Star Fox: First Contact
by Sheppard - Aggron24
Summary: In a Lylat System where Andross' attacks never ravaged the system, and war never wreaked havoc on Corneria, a ground-breaking discovery is made. The first intergalactic civilization. However, the outcome of this discovery will depend on if the other civilization can do their own research without it blowing up in their face... or in someone else's...
1. Setting the Stage

**A/N: Update: This story has quickly turned into my favorite I've written so far. I've gotten an immense amount of feedback, copious amounts of positive encouragement, and overall good words. I can't say how happy that makes me feel you guys. So, if you're a returning reader reading this; from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You guys are the best. For new readers; I highly encourage you to give even a slight amount of feedback. I know, I've said this _countless_ times before, but I've noticed if I keep saying it, it will eventually become second nature when a new chapter is posted.  
>Again, I want you guys' opinions and feedback. Anything at all helps, because it honestly helps me become a better author, which benefits you guys as well because my writing quality improves. When that happens, the story itself improves. And I've noticed, with the insane amount of feedback this story had gotten over the months, the quality of my writing has increased exponentially.<br>**

**Anyway, for older readers, seriously; thank you so much. For the new readers, just sit back, relax, and hopefully take some of my words to heart. I present chapter one of Star Fox: First Contact. I hope you guys enjoy.  
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**(Also, the beginning part is IMMENSLEY important, so I HIGHLY suggest you read that part thoroughly. If not, you may get lost... Don't say I didn't warn ya!)**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next time!**

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><p>Let's draw the background first, shall we?<p>

You might remember the Lylat System as the home to an anthropomorphic race known as the Cornerians. Home to humanized animals such as dogs, wolves, birds, felines, reptiles, hares, foxes, you get the idea… They have their own technology, communication methods, intelligence, military, architecture, entertainment, you name it.

You may also remember that Lylat was locked into a war for several years with a mad scientist named Andross, and his allied planet, Venom. The war ravaged the planetary system, killing millions of people, and leaving Corneria devastated. It was the worst tragedy to ever strike the Lylat System.

However… _What if that never happened?_

What if Lylat never had to deal with that severe tragedy?

Let's add some details to the picture we are drawing.

First off: Let's just set the record straight and say that Andross and his experiments never existed. He's like the rock stuck in your shoe; just take him out, throw him away, and forget he ever existed. He will never be relevant in this story.

Secondly: Although war is not predominant now, Star Fox still does exist, but not the same way you would think. Since Andross never existed, an orange vulpine by the name of James McCloud is still alive. His wife, Vixy, is also still safe at home. Their only kit, Fox, may only be thirteen years old now, but he already knows what he wants to do for the rest of his life.

He wants to be just like his dad; and James couldn't be happier.

Anyway, this current Star Fox team that you will come to know and love consists of the leader, James McCloud; the ace pilot, Riley Lombardi; the irreplaceable Peppy Hare, and a nineteen year old Wolf O'Donnell.

Woah, woah, wait a second; let me explain this sudden mind-fuckery. The mortal enemy of Fox McCloud a member of Star Fox? Well, let's first put this into perspective. This could be important.

Five years prior to the start of this story, James 'adopted' Wolf, finding him half beaten to death on a Cornerian side street. James took him in and cared for him, and since Wolf had no recollection of his personal life, he considered James his father. Wolf got along with the other McClouds very well, considering Vixy instantly took Wolf in and cared for him like he was one of her own. Wolf enlisted in the Cornerian Flight Academy at James request, where he was able to get his superb flying skills. Wolf also quickly became a role model for the other kit in the McCloud household. Fox and Wolf got along like two best friends, although Fox considered the older lupine his brother. Yes, this is the part where you say 'aww'.

Shall we elaborate on the other side of Star Fox?

Riley Lombardi. He joined Star Fox at James' request. They were roommates in the Cornerian Flight Academy, and partners in the CDF for many years. You may not know him per se, but you do know his son, a blue avian by the name of Falco Lombardi. Much like James and Fox, Riley and Falco were damn near identical. Both had a similar stature, similar physical characteristics, and the same natural born talent. Falco was a friend to the McClouds also, although his unmistakable personality didn't put him as close as Fox and Wolf. Falco was the kind of guy that would back you up in a fight, but would most likely bet money against you first. Falco, being only fourteen at this time, inherited most of his father's traits, which was to be expected. The Lombardi's have always been a headstrong, brash family, but have always been highly skilled in piloting aircrafts.

Now, enough with the character explanations. More will come later. In the meantime, let's go back to some more background information.

Corneria. Population: 43.7 billion. A planet teeming with life and technology. Cars load the streets, buildings cover the ground, and people overflow city corners. A prime example of these facts is the capital, Corneria City. It is, by far, the largest city on Corneria, with roughly 2.2 billion inhabitants. Due to the fact that Andross never attacked, this city was able to flourish, and technology in the city evolved exceptionally well. They skipped generations of improvement and went straight to state-of-the-arc sciences. Their communications, their weaponry, their transportation; all developed and increased exponentially. Some of this new-found technology went to the engineering-science wing of Cornerian research. Mainly, exploration of other systems.

This is where it all begins.

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><p><span><strong>Cornerian Defense Force HQ - Cornerian Space Exploration wing<strong>

"Sir?" a Cornerian scientist spoke from his station. "Sir, the drones… they…" he stuttered shakily.

"What's wrong Vince?" a second scientist asked. Vince's white fur appeared green because of the screen he was staring at. He was shaking, and his eyes were bigger than saucers.

"The satellite," he echoed, trying to catch his breath. "System U-8… We… we got a positive reading."

The second scientist opened his muzzle wide. "P-Positive? You can't be-"

"It- it's true. Positive readings. _Overwhelmingly_ positive readings."

"But… We've sent drones to that system hundreds of times, why are we just now getting a positive reading?"

Vince shrugged. "I-I'm not sure…" He turned to the second scientist. "Keep an eye on my station. I- I have to get Pepper right now."

Vince shot up and dashed out the set of doors into the white hallways of the CDF headquarters. The wandering Cornerians stopped and stared at the arctic fox running through the hall, bumping into soldiers as he rushed for the General. His short white hair was being blown backwards due to the speed he was carrying. The white vulpine lost his footing and slammed into the door to the bloodhound's quarters. Holding his shoulder, he knocked furiously on the General's door.

"General!" he shouted, wailing on the door.

Pepper opened the door with a scowl on his face. "What's the problem?" he said, almost growling at the scientist.

Vince was shaking noticeably, and the General instantly realized the poor little scientist had just seen something. Vince threw his hand up in a haphazard salute, breathing heavily.

"Sir. The satellites we sent to system U-8… we've finally got a positive reading from one…"

Pepper's eyes shot open wider than the awestruck scientist's did when he first discovered the readings. "You… you mean…" he started as best as he could.

Vince nodded. "We've tested positive for life sources on the surface of the third planet in U-8. This is the first time we've ever gotten these readings before."

Pepper leaned on the wall next to him. His breathing intensified as he stared straight into the bright blue eyes of the white vulpine. "If these readings are true, I want you to send more satellites to that area. Find out more about this planet. I want as much information as you can give me."

Vince nodded and threw up his hand. "Understood, sir. We'll have satellites in the atmosphere of that planet in a few days. We'll give you information as soon as it becomes available to us."

"Good. Get working on it." Pepper stated, and the arctic fox rushed back into the communications room. Pepper closed his room up again, and sat on the chair up against the wall of the room. The inner turmoil within Pepper's mind was increasing with every second he didn't act. He was too busy thinking about what he should do. Should he stay in silence and study the civilization? Should he try to contact this newly discovered planet? Or should he launch an attack?

He decided to wait, because he was yet to be informed on how advanced this civilization was. He needed advice. He needed help. Pepper quickly stood up and patched a call through to his long-time friend, hoping to get some assistance.

"Ah, General Pepper," The orange vulpine said as he became visible on the bloodhound's screen. He instantly cocked his head as he saw the condition of the General. "Is… there something troubling you sir?"

"As a matter of fact James, yes… I need your help."

James removed the sunglasses from his green eyes as Pepper continued. "Our lead scientist in charge of intergalactic exploration, Vince Stazac, just came to me moments ago saying that the satellite his team sent to System U-8 radioed in with positive results."

"Positive?" James repeated, cocking his head. "Like… _life_ positive?" he asked slowly, not breaking his stare on the general.

"Indeed," Pepper responded. "I've already told Vince to send more drones to the area. If we can get a concrete picture of the lifeforms on this planet, we may be able to set up communications."

"Communications with these alien creatures?"

"Exactly."

James rubbed the bottom of his muzzle. "Do we know of anything else other than there being life on the planet itself?"

"Not at the moment. Like I said before, Vince is already sending satellites to orbit the atmosphere around that planet. Those satellites will give us more than enough information to deduce weather or not we should set up an alliance."

"An alliance," James echoed, a faint smile creasing his face. "Hmm… I like the plan General… But if I may ask, how does this involve me?"

"I was hoping you'd ask," Pepper smiled. "If we do set up some form of an alliance, I'll assume we need a physical delegate to represent ourselves. I'd like you and the rest of Star Fox to act as an escort for our representatives."

James smile grew larger and larger with every word the general said. "Wow, it's an honor General. I… I don't know what else to say…" he managed to say, still trying to regain his bearings after the bomb that had been dropped on him.

Pepper smiled at the vulpine. "You've got time to think, McCloud. I'll have Stazac give you calls whenever they find anything of importance."

"Sounds good General. McCloud out." The screen faded to black, and the vulpine faded away. Pepper looked out the window of his office, overlooking the giant skyscrapers that lined Corneria's skyline. The city looked peaceful, even in broad daylight. He sighed as he slouched down in his office chair. The phone on his desk suddenly rang loudly, startling the middle aged bloodhound.

"General Pepper," He stated firmly into the receiver.

"General? It's Stazac. We've found something, sir." The arctic fox's shaky voice came back.

"What is it?" the bloodhound asked intently.

"This life source… it's… it's more developed than we previously thought."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, sir, shortly after our probe got into the atmosphere of the planet and gave us our positive readings, it reported an outside interference. Something like a mechanical failure that wasn't caused by an internal malfunction. A few seconds afterward, we completely lost contact with it. Putting it into plain words, sir, _our probe was shot down_."

Pepper was obviously intrigued. One moment, they discover an entirely new life system. The next moment, they attack and destroy their satellite on impulse, almost if they were trying to defend themselves.

"Stand by; I'll be there in a second," Pepper responded, and put the receiver down. He got up out of his chair and made his way down the hall towards the communications room. He burst through the doors of the satellite observations room, not upset, but completely confused and desperate for answers.

"Vince, what happened?" he asked calmly, but there was still a hint of impatience in his voice.

"A whole shit ton happened, general!" Vince snapped scornfully, wrapping his hands around his muzzle. The scientist looked flustered, and his eyes were jumping from one screen to another, trying to come up with a logical explanation for what had just transpired. He shifted his glance to the general and lowered his ears.

"I-I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to go off on you like that. I'm… just really flustered right now…" he said humbly, staring at the screen.

"Alright, Vince, calm down and explain to me what's going on."

Vince took a few seconds to catch his breath, and pulled up the satellite communications. The screen was flashing red with the words 'CONNECTION LOST' blinking periodically. He sighed as he spoke to the general.

"This… our satellite got compromised. I don't know if it got completely destroyed, but our connection was terminated only a few minutes ago."

"What hit it, Stazac?" Pepper asked.

"Tough to say," Vince said confusedly. "The way our satellite reacted to this leads me to believe it was a laser-guided anti-air missile launched from the surface of this planet."

"Laser-guided weaponry?" Pepper scoffed humorously, cracking a smile. "Don't you think that kind of weaponry is underdeveloped for a civilization?"

"That's what I was thinking," Vince agreed, not breaking his stare on the screen. "Whoever, or _what_ever, these alien creatures are, they sure don't want us around here." A few seconds of silence passed, then Vince decided to break the ice.

"Do you think this is an act of war, general? Like, do you think this calls for retaliatory measures?"

Pepper sighed and looked down. He had never declared war yet in his short term as general. He had just been recently promoted in the last two years, so the bloodhound was still trying to figure out what he was supposed to do and how he was supposed to do it. He knew he couldn't physically declare war; that was the Cornerian Government's job. He could give the recommendations to do so, but he was still hesitant on impulsively declaring war on a primitive civilization. As a matter of fact, he had a slight feeling of fear. What could this civilization do if he did agree with his impulses?

"Well, Vince, I would agree with you… under normal circumstances…"

Vince finally broke his stare on the screen and looked directly at the general. "What do you mean by that, sir?" he asked, tilting his head.

Pepper glanced up and gazed at the arctic fox. "This very well have been an accident. As a matter of fact, I do believe it _was_ an accident. They were probably thinking it was some sort of attack. I will let this little incident slide for now, but if anything else happens like this again, as in if our other satellites consistently get destroyed by these creatures, I will have no choice but to declare war, and the outcome will not go in these aliens' favor."

"Do you still want us to launch more satellites, sir?"

"Yes. We still need more information from this civilization. See if you can modify our satellites too look… a little less intimidating… if that's even possible. We need cultural information, satellite imagery, everything."

Vince nodded and began swiftly typing coded jargon into the computer. Pepper set his paw on Vince's shoulder.

"Don't overwork yourself, Vince… You're my best scientist, and I don't want our work suffering just because you are."

Vince put on a slight grin. "Thanks general, I won't let you down."

Pepper turned around and began to walk out the door. After taking about ten steps, he turned around and faced the vulpine scientist.

"Like I said Vince, I don't want to start a war with these creatures… Not unless I have to…"


	2. The Tree

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the feedback so far. I have gotten a bunch of messages asking for a bit of explanation, and I've answered them as best as I can, but this chapter here will hopefully clear the rest up. If, however, you sill have some questions, please feel free to ask. I will always reply to anyone's message, no matter who it is. I was privileged to see that one of the most talented and respected Star Fox writers, Sanitarium, actually left me a bit of advice (or a rant), and I must say he helped me quite a bit with this chapter here. Like I said, this should hopefully explain some loose ends.**

**It's always nice to get the other perspective, no?**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next time!**

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><p><span><strong>NASA Kennedy Space Center; October 12, 2035: four years after the first satellite<strong>

"Got eyes on another unidentified satellite. Orbiting 50 miles due east of section 42."

"Another one? That's the seventh one in the past two years!"

"I've already got weapons locked on, shall we fire?"

"No, disengage right now. We don't want to make the same mistake we did four years ago."

"Mistake?"

"The very first satellite we came into contact with we destroyed on impulse. We thought it was a Russian orbital surveillance drone at first because of its construction, but once we retrieved the wreckage we instantly realized we were horribly mistaken."

"If it's not the Russians, then who is it?"

"Some kind of alien race, we think. Is that satellite you're tracking the same as the other ones?"

"Um… no, this one is different… It's much larger; almost three times the size of the others."

"Does it have that same insignia on the port side?"

"What insignia?"

"Oh, I forgot. You're new here. Let me show you."

The two human scientists left the room and made their way down to the storage rooms. The first one swiped a card on the receiver, and the heavy door slid open, revealing a large, disabled satellite looking machine. It was sleek, sliver, and had numerous antennae and steel plates covering the cylindrical machine. The second scientist instantly put two and two together and deduced that the crippled satellite was not a product of earthly ingenuity. The first scientist pointed to a faded blue logo; a wire-like sphere with a sliver ring around it, with what looked to be olive branches underneath it. The scientist could faintly read the words _Cornerian Defense Force_ underneath the insignia.

"That… Is that the first satellite?" the second scientist questioned.

The first one nodded. "This was the first one we shot down almost four years ago. Obviously, wherever this one was sent from, they must have a sentient life source there. Because, well, how else would an alien race be able to launch something so advanced and sophisticated? As far as we know, and as much as we want to, there's no way for us to contact this civilization, unfortunately."

"Well, do you think that this satellite was an attempt to get into contact with _us_?" The second scientist asked, scratching his dark beard.

"I wouldn't bet against it. When we searched this machine the first time, it had countless receivers and antennae that were unfortunately destroyed on impact. We got damn lucky this came down in the Arctic sea, otherwise it would have been completely destroyed."

"Have we at least _tried_ to contact this system?"

The first scientist sighed disappointedly. "We haven't been able to find any useful equipment to establish communications. We actually tried to contact the other satellites that are in orbit, but we can't seem to break the coding on them. We've built a satellite ourselves that we plan to send out there also, but we don't have a specific point of coordinates to program the flight."

"Have you checked this?" the second scientist gently kicked the twisted heap of machinery. "There might be some information still in this."

"Ah, good point. Help me search it."

The second scientist pulled off a metal plate from the alien satellite. He instantly gaped at the sheer amount of plates, chips, and wires in the massive machine. Most of them had been corroded and rusted, and most of the machinery had fallen apart. He dug around some of the wires for a few minutes, then heard something click. He inadvertently disconnected one of the numerous wires, which caused the machine to whir and grind.

"What did you hit, Grant?" the first scientist shouted over the loud grinding.

"Must've bumped a wire. At least we know it still works…" he chuckled.

"Well, yeah, I guess… Keep searching."

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><p><span><strong>Corneria City Suburbs<strong>

"Fox! Wake up!" Vixy shouted from downstairs. "Your father needs you!"

After a brief few minutes, Vixy heard footsteps from upstairs, but she quickly realized the person creating the noise was not the vulpine she was paging. Instead, it was a large, grey, purple eyed lupine. He was wearing a white t-shirt with some black shorts, and his grey furred legs glistened in the sunlight seeping in through the front door.

"Oh, morning Wolf," She said cheerfully, not losing her trademark smile. She planted a kiss on the lupine's muzzle as he walked by. "Sleep well?"

Wolf tilted his head, resulting in a loud crack. "Better than I have been," he said, putting inflection on the second part of the sentence. He wrapped his left arm around his chest, trying to loosen it.

"That's good," she made a faint glance to the kitchen. "Hungry at all?"

"Of course," Wolf said with a grin.

"Oh, can you get Fox up for me? Your father needs him for something."

"Ugh, fine," Wolf said before trudging upstairs. There were three upstairs room in the relatively large McCloud household. It wasn't a huge house by any means, but it was still the largest house within ten blocks. The first upstairs room on the left was Wolf's room, the one behind it was an unused bedroom, and the room on the right was Fox's. Fox's door was cracked slightly, and Wolf gingerly stuck his muzzle through the tiny opening in the doorframe. Fox was out cold, lying flat on his back with his head turned to the wall next to him. He was partially buried under a thick blue and white plaid blanket. As Wolf slowly made his way to the sleeping vulpine, he could hear the young fox's breathing against the wall.

"Wakie wakie, Foxie," Wolf hummed, rubbing the vulpine's exposed shoulder. The teenage Fox grunted softly, then rolled over with his eyes partially opened.

"Hmng… Wha…" Fox mumbled, almost sounding like he was in a drunken stupor. Wolf couldn't help but chuckle at the orange vulpine's incoherent murmuring.

"Better get your ass moving, Fox," Wolf stated, patting the kit's head. "Dad needs you for something."

Fox opened his eyes wider and stretched out his arms. He groaned loudly as he sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Ngh… I'll… I'll be down in a sec…" he grumbled. His grumbling came on deaf ears, as Fox glanced at the door just in time to see the tip of Wolf's tail disappear behind the doorframe.

Fox was not the definition of a morning person. As most teenagers do, he loved to stay up late and wake up late. He hated being woken up before 10, and made sure that everyone knew it.

Fox took a glance at the clock on his nightstand. 09:27. Fox groaned and let his head fall back on his pillow. He gazed up at the ceiling, watching as his little model Arwing floated around above his bed.

_I_ _want one of those so bad_, Fox wished, before finally throwing the heavy blanket off of his legs and standing up. He threw on a pair of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt with a Cornerian sports team insignia stitched onto the left breast. He combed his paw through his white mohawk as he reopened the door to his room and slowly found his way downstairs. The stairs led to the main room, where two couches sat up against the south and east walls, and a decently sized TV sat hung up on the north wall.

The TV was playing the local news, and the picture on the screen showed a standoff between Cornerian police, and what looked to be a team of bank robbers. Fox was usually interested in this kind of drama, but his dad needed him, and he didn't want to keep him waiting. He glanced down at the time on the cable box below the TV. 09:36. Fox grunted as he quickly jerked around and walked into the kitchen.

Wolf was in the kitchen just to the left of the stairs, pounding a plate of what looked to be scrambled eggs. Vixy was at the sink, and glanced over her shoulder as Fox walked in.

"Good morning Fox," she said cheerfully, almost in a song-like fashion.

"Hi mom," Fox replied, stretching his arms again. "Wolf said that dad needed me?"

"Right, he's out in the garage," Vixy pointed at the door to the garage with the pan she was cleaning. Fox swiped a donut from a box on the counter as he walked out into the garage.

"Dad?" Fox looked around the room, but found no sign of his father. He only saw his father's black sports car, and Wolf's motorbike leaning up against the wall. He took a large bite out of the donut as he opened the back door that led into their backyard. Their backyard wasn't huge, but there was a giant oak tree that had to be upwards of 80 feet tall right dead center in the yard; completely shading the entire house and lawn. Fox looked up at the tree and saw something dangling from a high branch. Another long look revealed it to be a bushy brown tail with a white tip, much like his own. Fox shifted his gaze even higher and saw the rest of his father sitting on that high branch, gazing out towards Corneria City. He glanced down and smiled as he heard the teenager's footsteps on the grass.

"Dahahad!" Fox laughed as his father gave him a sly smile.

"Come on Fox, get up here and join me," James shouted, holding his hand downward. It didn't matter; James was still almost forty feet off the ground. Fox polished off the rest of his breakfast, and then found his footing on the massive tree. He grunted and exhaled heavily as he reached for one foothold after the other. As Fox scaled the tree to almost where his father was sitting, and heard a loud crack, and suddenly felt the branch underneath him give way. Fox inhaled and prepared to scream as he plummeted to the ground, but strangely didn't feel the ground getting closer to him. He could only feel a paw clasped around his right forearm. He glanced up to see a pair of dark sunglasses staring at him.

"I gotcha," James assured, lifting Fox almost effortlessly onto the think branch he had been sitting on. Fox was lighter than most of the vulpines in his age group, only weighing a measly 95 pounds, but all of it was pure muscle as he could easily hold his own during school sports. That didn't discourage James, as he could easily pick up the thirteen-year-old vulpine and carry him around like he was nothing. Fox exhaled as he felt the tree branch with his tail.

"Thanks, dad," Fox smiled, making the older vulpine grin.

"Not a problem, kit," James said, rubbing his paw on the top of Fox's head.

Fox looked around at the leaves surrounding them. "Why are you even up here, anyway?"

James shrugged. "To be fairly honest, Fox, I don't even know the answer to that. I was getting tired of fixing up the car and felt like taking a break. I saw that this branch right here was fairly high up and I wanted to see if I could still climb this thing," he smiled, stretching his arms. "I eventually lost track of time once I got here and looked out and saw the skyline of Corneria City."

Fox grinned, then glanced down at the ground from his high perch on the tree. After a few seconds of silence except for the wind rustling the leaves, Fox finally spoke up. "So, you wanted to talk to me, dad?"

"Yes, Fox," James answered almost instantly, taking off his dark shades. His pale green eyes reflected in Fox's, almost as if he was looking into a mirror. "A few years ago, I was given the greatest opportunity of my life, and now that it has finally become relevant again, I think you should be the first one I tell it to."

"You got a promotion?" Fox asked excitedly and impulsively.

"I wish," James chuckled. "However, this is better than any promotion I could ever get."

"What, is it another assignment?" Fox asked, a hint of bitterness in his tone. Fox hated when his father was sent on missions, because it meant that he wouldn't see him for weeks, even months at a time. He always came back unscathed, but Fox always feared that there would be a first time for everything.

James instantly caught the bitter tone from the vulpine and was quick to respond. "No, no, it's not another mission," James spoke quick, patting Fox's back. "At least… not yet…"

Fox cocked his head. "Not yet?" he echoed, somewhat disappointedly, but curiously.

"Hold on a sec, let me finish," James said, consoling the kit. "I _have_ been assigned a mission, but not until the general gives me the ok."

"What's the mission, dad?"

James sighed and looked towards the sky. "You've heard the news over the years about the things we've been finding in space, right?"

"Yeah," Fox replied, implying the 'duh' tone.

James gave the kit a look that could see through concrete walls. "What have you heard?"

"Well," Fox tried to respond, but found himself looking down and folding his ears over. "Nothing… really."

James chuckled faintly, then stared into Fox's eyes with a sly grin. "We're not alone in the universe."

Fox's ears instantly perked up again. "Are you serious?" he asked, even though he knew his father was dead serious.

"Yup. From what the company told me, we found another sentient civilization in the universe. Apparently, these creatures are called humans, and they live in a planetary system that is billions of light years away."

"Wow," Fox gaped, completely awestruck. "Well? Where do they live? What do they look like?" he started his barrage of questions, but James quickly hushed the curious vulpine.

"We don't know very much about them right now. We do know is that their technology is not as advanced as ours. They have cars, airplanes, boats, and stuff like that, but they rely mostly on primitive fuel sources, like oil and nuclear generators for example."

"Do these humans act like us?"

"I would assume no, but I'm not the person that was researching this. All _I've_ been told is the means of transportation for the species, and what kind of military they have. Heh, they're so underdeveloped that they still use kinetic weapons. Can you believe that?"

"Wait," Fox stopped his father from rambling. "What's this mission you were assigned?"

James sighed, gazing into Fox's emerald eyes. "General Pepper wants me and the rest of the Star Fox team to go to this planet when they get a concrete picture of the civilization. They want us to escort Pepper and some other Lylat delegates to the surface to potentially set up communications with the planet, but for all I know that may not be the case."

Those last six words stabbed into Fox like a sharp broadsword. He had watched his father go off into war before, and it was the most painful experience the little vulpine had ever dealt with. He never wanted to see his father leave him for too long ever again; mainly because he was afraid of losing him.

Fox opened his maw to express his feelings against this, but was cut off by a sharp ringing from his father's wrist.

"One sec, Fox," he said calmly, lifting his arm up to his muzzle. "McCloud… Oh, uh, hi Vince. You need something?"

Fox's eyes lit up as his father mentioned Vince's name. Vince was always kind and compassionate towards the little vulpine, and Fox looked up to him as an idol. Fox always thought of the arctic fox as an uncle, and James never argued with him; mainly because James and Vince had been friends for longer than either of them could remember. They were essentially brothers.

James listened intently as the arctic fox's faint words spewed out of his wristwatch. "So, you did decide to launch the big one… Any success? …Oh, really? …But I thought… They can? …Well, why haven't they? …Oh, I suppose you make a good argument there… Yeah, I understand… Heh, yeah I know, _you're_ the scientist… Yup… You want me to bring the little one too? …Sure thing… I'll be there as soon as I can… Yup, see ya."

James turned his head to the kit. "Vince has something he wants to show us… you ready?"

"Yeah!" Fox responded enthusiastically. His ears and tail twitched wildly.

James grunted as he repositioned himself on the giant branch. He took a deep breath, placed his paws on the branch, and flung himself forward. As the ground became closer, James reached out his paw and grabbed onto a smaller branch about ten feet off the ground. He growled softly as he let go and landed feet first on the ground. He turned around to Fox, who was gaping at the athleticism of his father.

"You coming or what?" James smirked, holding out his arms. As Fox attempted to stand up on the thick tree branch, a piece of bark chipped off under his foot, causing Fox to lose his balance and fall backwards. Fox plummeted to the ground at a speed too fast for the older vulpine to react in time for.

Luckily, someone else did react in time.

James saw a grey streak shoot out from his peripheral vision and snatch the young vulpine just as he was about to hit the ground. He rushed over to where the streak had stopped, and sighed in relief as he saw a gray tail wiggling from the ground.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, let go of me Wolf," Fox whined under the heavy lupine.

"Excuse me?" Wolf smirked, rolling over and pinning Fox by his forearms. "I think I just saved your tail a few seconds ago, at least give me some form of thanks."

"Why should I?" Fox grunted, trying to free his arms. "You're kinda crushing me, Wolf."

"Come on, say it,"

"No," Fox said stoically.

"Say it," he repeated with inflection.

"Dad!" Fox shouted. "Tell him to get off of me!"

James couldn't help but chuckle. "Give him what he wants, Fox."

"Say it…" Wolf repeated, sticking his tongue out of his muzzle and inching closer to Fox's face.

"No."

"You're forcing my hand, runt," Wolf chuckled.

"I'm not gonna," Fox reiterated.

"Suit yourself," Wolf smiled, before revealing his lupine tongue completely and licking the entire left side of Fox's face. Fox whined and moaned as he rubbed his face against the ground, trying to get the saliva out of his fur.

"I'll do it again if you don't say anything," Wolf threatened, revealing the tip of his tongue out of the side of his maw again.

"Ugh, fine," Fox groaned in defeat. "_Thank you_, Wolf," he stated bitterly. "Now would it kill you to brush your teeth once in a while?"

James cracked up at the remark, which only caused Wolf to growl softly and pick the teenage vulpine up and set him on his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Fox questioned, sounding annoyed. He tried as much as he could, but was unable to break Wolf's hold.

"Making sure you don't end up trying to kill yourself again," Wolf grunted, tossing Fox into the back seat of James' car. He smirked as he slammed the door, and walked to the other side of the black sports car and entered through the passenger side door. James slid in on the driver's side a few seconds later, still chuckling at the pervious encounter. He noticed Wolf's violet eyes next to him and instantly opened his mouth to question.

"I'm assuming you overheard most of our conversation?"

Wolf shook his head. "Not all of it. Just the call with you and Vince. I'm just tagging along to see what's up."

James shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me. Does your mother know?"

Wolf nodded. "She's cool with it, just as long as we're back home before sundown."

"Great," James slipped his dark shades over his eyes and slowly pulled the car out of the garage. He then did a sharp 90 degree turn to the right, and effortlessly made his way around the winding suburban streets and in no time flat was on the highway heading south to Corneria City. Fox laid his arm on the outside of the window, letting the cool spring breeze sooth his fur and trying to dry the rest of Wolf's saliva from his face. His ears flapped wildly as James increased his speed on the highway. After a rather boring and uneventful ten minutes, the monotony of the ride and the sensations of the car bumping got the best of Fox. He slowly started nodding off, and in no time flat was fast asleep in the car.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Kennedy Space Center<strong>

"Find anything yet, Grant?"

"I… might have… I just found this huge circuit board. It might be the main data chip. It still works, too."

"Let me see it," the scientist reached for the large, thin, blue plate in Grant's hand. After a few minutes of carefully and thoroughly examining the circuit board, he suddenly gasped.

"This is just what we need. This board should have all the information we need on it."

"What's on it?" Grant questioned.

"Flight data, coordinates, observations, the whole nine yards. This will give us the first actual legitimate example on who, or _what_, these people are and what they want from us. Not only that, we can back-trace this plate, and hopefully get an idea on where in the vast universe they are."

#####

Grant sat down next to the other scientist, huddled around the dual computer screens.

"Got everything hooked up?" the scientist asked, waking his computer from sleep mode.

Grant shrugged. "Should be… I don't see why it wouldn't work."

The other scientist nodded and began rifling through his computer's hard drive, searching for the information locked on the Cornerian circuit board. He drummed his left hand on the desk as his right hand clicked on every document and stored data on the computer; searching for just the tiniest bit of information.

"Whoever these… '_Cornerians'_ are, they know their shit," the scientist grumbled. "It's coded well; I can't seem to find its information anywhere."

"Have you tried overwriting the signal it's producing right now?" Grant asked.

"It's producing a signal? How?"

Grant shrugged. "Must be a self-powered chip. Try to override its signal like any other circuit board."

"I can try… but I don't see how that would-" he froze as thousands of folders suddenly appeared and cluttered his screen. Literally thousands of folders were strewn about his desktop monitor, each one with a specific name such as 'Diagnostics', 'Data', 'Power Plans', 'Flight Data', 'Mechanics', and,

"Observations!" the scientist said loud enough to sound excited, but quiet enough so that the entire building wouldn't flock to his station. "Let's see what these little buggers are up to."

Files. Thousands upon thousands of files, each one carrying a specific title covered the monitor. Most had a variation of numbers, which they deduced to be some kind of dating system. The scientist clicked on a file marked '14-070-15:58' and gaped at the amount of words on the file.

"This satellite wrote all of this down?" Grant asked in disbelief. There had to be at least a quarter of a million words on the document. Most of it was written down in a language he didn't understand, but it was still a lot to take in.

"I really wish I could understand this," the first scientist spoke, sounding disappointed. "This could be really valuable information, but either they have a different language, or a really effective coding program. I can't get a grasp at what this machine was taking notes on."

The first scientist backtracked a bit, coming back to the first folders. He opened the folder marked 'Flight Data' and rummaged around that file, desperately searching for much needed information.

"Okay, so it looks like this has a set flight pattern," the scientist stated, quickly combing his hair behind his ears. "If I can decode this information, I can get a set-in-stone point of coordinates. This could help us figure out where we can launch our satellite. All I need to do is…" he clicked on a program on the screen, and the numbers and letters began to rearrange themselves, which made the scientist smile faintly. When the program beeped, signaling it had finished, there was a large set of red numbers right under the words 'mission start'.

"There's our culprit."


	3. Revelations

**A/N: Looks like weekly updates are perfect. Gave me just enough time to make sure everything was perfect with this chapter. Again, I can't thank you guys enough for the positive support, and I hope this is a trend that continues!**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next week for the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Cornerian Defense Force HQ<strong>

James pulled up to the red energy gates of the large white building. Usually the CDF didn't spring for heavy protection, but the gates were almost a necessity after the first successful satellite launch. They didn't want anyone getting a hold of their data that was not supposed to. The orange vulpine rolled his window down as the gate guard walked up to the car.

"Can I see some-" the yellow lab started but instantly froze as he saw the dark sunglasses. "Oh, I- I'm sorry, Mr. McCloud. I… didn't recognize you at first, sir," he chuckled sheepishly.

"Not a problem soldier," James smiled.

The soldier tilted his head and looked behind the vulpine. "Ah, I see you brought the kits too. What's the occasion, if I may ask?"

"Stazac called me earlier; said he had something to show me."

"How long you gonna be here, sir?" the canine asked, pulling out a small device.

"Hopefully not for too long. I don't want to overstay my welcome," James chuckled.

The yellow lab grinned and nodded his head. He trotted over to the booth and pressed a button, letting the red gates disengage. He gave James a thumbs-up, and James throttled up and drove through the gates. He slowly wound around the lot, before parking in a space only a few feet away from the main entrance to the headquarters. There was a sign just at the start of the parking space with the famous logo painted on it; a black fox with a large wing sprouting out of its back. James exhaled as he turned the car's engine off, and slowly stepped out of the machine. He chuckled as he saw the other orange vulpine asleep in the back seat.

"Don't worry Wolf, I'll get him," James piped up as the lupine reached for the back seat door handle. Wolf obliged, and began walking towards the main entrance. James walked his way around the car and opened the door, revealing the young fox with his head dangling on the seatbelt. He combed his paw through Fox's fur as he spoke softly.

"Fox, we're here… wake up, kit."

Fox grunted, and reached out his arms toward his father. "Carry me," he half mumbled and half slurred.

James chuckled, and lifted the vulpine out of the car. He held Fox's legs with his arms, and Fox laid his muzzle on top of James' head. Fox loosely wrapped his arms around his father's neck as they slowly walked to the main entrance.

"You're getting too heavy for this," James grinned, hoisting the little vulpine higher on his back. Fox had a cheesy smile as they walked into the massive building. It looked like an airport terminal, but instead of tourists and flight attendants, there were Cornerians in lab coats and highly equipped soldiers wandering the floors of the giant military headquarters. They walked up to the receptionists; a grey furred feline with a dark overcoat and a microphone dangling from her ear. She glanced up at the duo and squealed softly.

"Aww, you two are just way too adorable," she purred.

James gave her a proud smile. "He's a piece of work, don't let that sly smile get to ya."

The feline giggled as Fox rubbed his nose on his father's ear. "So, what are you here for, Mr. McCloud?"

"I'm supposed to be meeting someone here; Vince Stazac."

The feline nodded, and typed a few keys on her computer. "Stazac is on the third floor, west wing; room 12."

"Thanks," James smiled before walking over to the elevator. About halfway there, he swiftly jerked around, almost throwing Fox from his shoulders.

"Did you happen to see Wolf come in here?" he questioned. He lost the lupine when he went to get Fox out of the car.

"O'Donnell? I think he turned down the hall towards the barracks."

"Ah, thanks," he waved before stepping into the empty elevator. He pressed the number 3, and waited as the elevator rose up slowly.

"What does Uncle Vince want, dad?" Fox suddenly said right in James' ear, startling the older vulpine.

"Probably something about the satellites," James responded after catching his breath. "They sent another satellite yesterday, and they wanted me to come see the results."

"Cool," Fox said before burying his muzzle in James' hair. James smiled as he felt the breath leave the kit's nose.

The door opened, and James' jaw fell at the sights in the hallway. Scientists were rushing in and out of the doors, dropping papers as they quickly sped between rooms. The Cornerians were yelling over the sounds of instruments buzzing and blaring. It looked like a bunch of freshman in high school that were late for the first class of the day. Streaks of white kept temporarily blinding the older vulpine, even through his dark shades. Fox tried to get down, but James tightened his grip.

"Stay up there, I don't want to lose you in this mob."

James slowly inched his way through the hallway, getting bumped and hit from all angles by the paranoid scientists. James himself started to feel a little worried as most of the Cornerian scientists never lost their cool this bad. The only thing that would make them this edgy would be if they found some kind of ground-breaking information, which James instantly speculated that they did, considering the fact Vince had never called him in months prior.

"Vince!" James shouted at the sight of the short haired arctic fox at his station. Vince turned around and his ears instantly perked up.

"Oh, there you are James," he sighed heavily. Vince looked like he hadn't slept in days. His fur was matted, his hair was spiked out in all directions, and his white lab coat was stained and wrinkled. He smiled faintly as he saw the kit on James' shoulders.

"Hey Fox, sorry about this whole situation we're dealing with," he chuckled sheepishly.

"What is this 'whole situation', Vince?" James questioned, setting the kit down on the chair next to him. Fox's curiosity got the best of him instantly, as he started wandering around the room, gazing at all the equipment.

"The giant satellite we sent a few days ago?" Vince started, slicking back his hair. "We're getting way too much information from it. I mean, we're getting a shit ton of information and we can't keep up with it."

"What kind on information?" James asked, sitting at the station next to the arctic fox. He carefully removed his signature shades and stared intently at Vince's screens.

"For starters," Vince began, "These humans… They are split into hundreds of countries. Some are allied with others, and others have full-fledged wars brewing. Secondly, their military is much more primitive than we thought."

"As in?"

"You already knew they still used kinetic weaponry, but we also found out that they also still use infrared signals and satellite targeting."

James scoffed, grinning faintly. "Damn, you weren't kidding."

"I know, right?" Vince smiled. "Their aircrafts are also fairly underdeveloped. They are somewhat slow, and still require the usage of a landing strip."

"Good grief," James groaned, placing his paw over his face. "Anything else you want to share that isn't cringe-worthy?"

"Um…" Vince thought, trying to keep himself from laughing at the orange vulpine's statement. After thinking with a sly grin smeared on his face, he finally broke the silence.

"They're… kinda weird looking…" he stated frankly. "And that coming from me," he added, showing off his pearly white teeth with a goofy smile.

"How so?" James chuckled at the face the arctic fox just made.

"They are relatively furless. I mean, they have fur, but… only on the males for some reason. They do have hair though, but it comes off as greasy and matted sometimes."

"Interesting," James hummed, gripping his muzzle. Vince noticed his action and quickly added.

"Another thing. Their faces are relatively flat," he said, then put his paw around James' muzzle. "None of these," he chuckled, shaking the vulpine's facial protrusion playfully.

"Alright, I get it," James grunted nasally, prying Vince's wrist from his nose. "What about these?" he forcefully moved Vince's arm back to his own body, and made his paw slap and rub his snowy white ears.

"Oh, uh…" Vince grunted as he removed his wrist from James' grip. "Ear wise, and keep in mind my major is in engineering, not anatomy," he grinned, but continued on. "They have them, but much different than ours. They're located on the sides of the head, not on top."

"How's that work?"

"I guess their ear canals go straight through the sides of their heads instead of on top. Like I said James, not a biologist."

Jams still gave the white vulpine a quizzical look. "Ain't that strange…"

"And, another weird thing these humans have… or rather _don't_ have, are tails… completely nonexistent."

"No tails?" James repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Vince said, popping his lips on the letter 'p'.

"These humans _are_ weird," James stated, caressing his muzzle that Vince shook around.

Vince grinned sheepishly and spun back around to face his computer. "Anatomy lessons aside, there are also various climate zones on this planet, much like our own. Fertile farming grounds cover the surface, and there are countless mountain ranges sprawled all over the planet. There is also on the southern-most pole of the planet, a giant ice cap completely devoid of all life."

"Any other climates?"

"All sorts. The widest part of their planet that is the closest to their star is covered in tropics. Once you start going away from that center line and go towards the polar regions, it becomes cooler and more of a forested planet. Keep going north, or south, and the trees give way to a frozen tundra type landscape, much like Fichina. There are also deserts, plains, coastal areas, highlands, everything."

"Not only that," Vince added before James could even put in his own two cents. "The planet itself is mostly water. Over 75% is covered in some sort of water source."

James quickly butted into Vince's ramble. "Hmm, considering the immense amount of water on this planet's surface, do they have a lot of warfare on open seas?"

"Sometimes," Vince shrugged. "They have what's called a 'Navy'. It's basically a department of the military focused on aquatic defense. Apparently many of the countries have been invaded by other countries by boat."

"Hmm," James hummed.

"Also, this will be important to you, so listen closely." He pulled up a map of Earth and displayed it on his computer screen. He zoomed in on the western hemisphere, and pointed to a large section of a massive continent.

"This right here," he gestured to the northern section of the continent, "Is a country called the United States. If you were ever planning on setting up an alliance with the planet, even though I wouldn't recommend doing so, I suggest starting with this country here. It's the most advanced and the most powerful nation on the planet."

"Ah, thanks for the tip," James smiled, patting the scientist's back. "You wonder why I keep you around."

Vince turned his head and nodded towards Fox, who was wandering around the room, looking at the countless computer screens. "He's another reason."

"Good point," James chuckled. "I, honestly, am really impressed with Fox. He has never gotten into trouble ever, he's extremely intelligent, and he also has a way with working with machines. Did you know he helped me fix up the old sporty last week?"

"Him?" Vince echoed in disbelief. "Wow."

"That's what I said," James responded, looking up at the ceiling. "I owe some of this to you, Vince. He wouldn't be this interested in science and technology if you weren't here."

Vince smiled and flicked his tail. "I thought he always wanted to go into sports?"

"He did, but then all this intergalactic stuff happened, and now that's all he talks about anymore. He almost drowned me in questions this morning about this system."

Vince chuckled softly. "I'll make sure to put his name down when he's old enough," he smirked, playfully smacking James' arm. James was about to punch back, but was stopped as Vince's computer started buzzing loudly.

"Oh… _Oh_…" he gaped at the screen. "What the hell is this? Our first satellite is online again."

"What?" James half shouted. "I thought the first one was compromised."

"I thought so too," Vince replied, not breaking his death stare on the monitor. "This is the emergency signal when the main diagnostics chip is removed."

"You don't suppose they are trying to decode it?"

"I'd put credits on it, but I wouldn't put credits on them solving it. We used the latest coding encryption methods, and I'd say that they still have some primitive means of decoding. Still, that doesn't rule out the possibility of them successfully decoding it."

Vince suddenly gasped, clamping his left paw on his forehead. "Our coordinates. They could find out our coordinates."

"Vince," James said softly, but his plea came on deaf ears.

Vince started to panic. "They could be on our doorstep in a week. They could launch an attack! Oh god, what have we-"

"Vince," James shook the scientist's shoulder. "They have no ways of getting to us. Their aircrafts can barely break Mach speed, and they only have primitive satellites in terms of space technology. We'll be fine."

The white vulpine calmed down and sighed in relief. "That's true. We are billions of light years away, there's no chance of them getting to us." He glanced down at his keyboard, mumbling to himself trying to reassure himself of the situation.

"Only _us_ getting to _them_."

**Cornerian Defense Force Barracks**

Wolf popped into the mess hall of the giant military building. He often times did this to meet up with some of his friends that he had made whilst enlisted in the Academy. One of them being a small female Siberian husky that he had come to admire in his classes. She had a brilliant white coat of fur, with patches of light cinnamon brown fur on her face. That same light brown color worked around her arms, tail, ears, and back. Her hair, which was a relatively darker sandy brown, exploded off of her head and ran around her pointy ears all the way down to beyond her shoulder blades. She was easily the most attractive canine in the Academy, and Wolf knew it. He was able to create a great and lasting relationship with the copper husky, but still was yet to take it to the next step as much as he wanted to.

He spotted the husky instantly, and his heart instantly warmed up to her beautiful figure. _Still beautiful as ever_, he thought to himself. _She changed her hair too, I don't remember the bangs in front of her ears. Whatever, it doesn't matter; she's still gorgeous. Oh, what I would do to have her in my life…_

"Well, Miss Spitz, how's the force been treating ya?" Wolf smiled, sliding into the seat next to her and laying his muzzle on her shoulder.

"Wolf, please don't call me that," the husky giggled, shrugging her shoulder to make Wolf's head fall off.

"Fine then, _Sheila_," he said with a sarcastic inflection, "How you been doing?"

"Meh, not bad," Sheila smirked, taking a sip of her water bottle.

"Not bad?" Wolf echoed. "You just got promoted to lead Husky Squadron pilot and you're saying you're _not bad_?"

"Oh, so you've heard?" the copper husky said, pushing her long bangs out of her eyes. "How'd you know?"

"Kinda hard not to when it's all over the news."

"They seriously put that on the news?" Sheila sighed, putting her paw over her left eye. She glanced over at Wolf with her pale blue eyes wide open, spewing questions. "Did I look good? Was my hair ok? Was-"

"You were beautiful," Wolf stated warmly, laying his paw on the canine's shoulder.

"Oh," she grinned, feeling a rush of heat in her cheeks. "Thanks… but we both know you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"How could you think I didn't really mean that?" Wolf asked, trying to sound hurt.

"Well… I-I don't-"

"Are you blushing?" Wolf interrupted with a cheesy smile.

"Wha- no I'm not," Shelia glared, but she couldn't deny or control the burning sensation in her face.

"Oh my god you're blushing!" Wolf laughed.

"You're so mean," she whined, trying to say as stoic as possible, but found a slight smile creasing her face. She eventually broke down giggling as Wolf lowered his ears. She looked down to try to avoid his gaze, but there was only so much she could do to get away from him.

Wolf leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I think someone likes me…" he said tauntingly.

Sheila jerked her head around, almost butting heads with the lupine. "What if I do?" she snapped, but instantly reeled back and covered her muzzle in disbelief at what she revealed.

"I was only- _what_?" Wolf stared at the husky, almost as shocked as she was. They sat there at the empty table in silence, staring at each other, waiting for someone to break the ice.

Sheila quickly tried to patch things up. "Wolf, I- I mean, um, I… ah forget it…" she sighed, and glanced down at the ground. "I admit it."

"Admit what?" Wolf asked in a low voice. "Are… you serious? You can't be serious."

"I'm just gonna spare the drama," the canine stated frankly, then lifted her head back up. "Wolf, I like you. There, I said it," she admitted quickly, then turned her head away and waited for the response.

"Me?" Wolf repeated, enlarging his violet eyes and keeping his muzzle wide open. "W-why?"

"Well, we've been friends for so long, and after a while, I… I felt kinda strange. Whenever I was around you, I just felt this weird feeling, and," her voice trailed off as she glanced back at Wolf. Much to her surprise, Wolf was smiling. A cheesy, happy, and most of all, loving smile plastered itself on Wolf's maw. He leaned back over to the husky and wrapped his arm around her.

"I know exactly how you feel… because that's how I was the first time I met you."

"Y-you too?" she stuttered, her muzzle dropping to the floor.

Wolf half-nodded, and looked up at the ceiling. "There's no easy way to say this… but I liked you too. The first day of the Academy, I saw you, and I was instantly attracted to you," he explained sheepishly, sometimes scratching the back of his neck. "I wanted to ask you out after a while but… in all honesty… I was shy. That caught me by surprise, because I'm never shy around anyone."

A faint purring sound resounded from Sheila's maw as she responded. "To be honest, I… I was shy around you too. Once we got to know each other a bit, the shyness started to die down, but I still was hesitant on asking your opinion on me."

Wolf cracked a smiled, and looked back down at the cinnamon colored husky. "Can I say it now?" he asked intently, his tail flicking wildly.

"I guess," she giggled, drawing closer to the lupine.

Wolf sighed and brought his voice to a low whisper; his face mere inches away from Sheila's. "You are the most intelligent, beautiful, and kind-hearted girl I've ever met, and I would want nothing more than to spend all of my time with someone like you," he said flawlessly, almost as if he had been rehearsing it.

Sheila started tearing up, and spoke quietly. "Same goes for me too."

Sheila suddenly got a burst of courage, and leaned a few inches forward, joining both their muzzles together. Wolf cradled the back of her head, and locked himself in a deep and passionate kiss with the husky. Both of them wanted this moment to last forever. However, that was not the case, as a tall, muscular black raven came up behind them and squawked, jerking the two out of their moment.

"What the hell are you doing O'Donnell?!" he smirked, then walked around the table, plopping down across from the lupine.

Wolf staggered backward, almost falling out of his seat. "Holy shit Dennis don't do that!"

"Aw, screw you Dennis," Sheila giggled, throwing her plastic spoon at the bird.

"So… you finally got the balls to ask, eh Wolf?" Dennis chirped with a sly smile.

"I would say yes, but _I_ didn't ask…"

"Woah, hold on, she asked you?" Dennis asked with an eyebrow raised

"It's," Wolf sighed, shaking his head with a smile. "It's complicated. Just know that we finally got together." He turned his head and gave a grin to the husky.

Dennis folded his hands and placed his elbows on the table. "Seriously though, I'm happy for you two. I honestly couldn't see a better match for either of you. Well, maybe Sheila, but-"

"You're an ass!" Wolf chuckled, swiping at the raven. After Dennis' laughter subsided, he lowered his voice and glanced at the lupine.

"Hmm, have any plans later?" Dennis cooed, winking at Wolf.

"I don't know, do we?" Wolf turned his head to Sheila, winking in the same manner Dennis did.

"Oh, aren't you a charming little puppy," she purred, twirling her long, sandy hair with her paw. Dennis instantly exploded into laughter, and buried his beak into his arms. Wolf blushed noticeably and wrapped his arm around the husky. She leaned her head in and whispered in his ear.

"Call me later; obviously we need a little privacy," she said softly, before sticking her tongue in the lupine's ear, causing him to stagger backwards and almost fall out of his seat. Wolf was glowing a bright red as he resituated himself, but heard a voice call out from behind him.

"Wolf! Let's head out!" James yelled, waving his paw at the table.

"Looks like you need to go," Sheila smiled, still in a state of disbelief at what had just happened not five minutes ago.

"Ah, alright. I'll call you later," Wolf smiled, giving another comforting hug to the canine. Sheila snuck in a kiss on the lupine's muzzle as he pulled away, making him grin even larger.

"See ya Wolf," she said warmly, and watched as his grey tail disappeared around the corner. She turned around and glared at Dennis once the lupine was out of earshot.

"What?" Dennis chuckled, holding his wings out by his sides. "Don't get mad at me, I was just curious."

Dennis was older than the husky; he being 27 and Sheila only being 19, but he sure didn't act his age. He would constantly crack jokes and try to make any situation lighter. Some of his humor came on some controversial grounds sometimes, but he was always well liked amongst everyone in the CDF. In terms of military rankings, Dennis was much lower than Sheila, which flared up his jealousy, but he still respected the young commander. He was a massive and intimidating raven, standing at six foot six and almost 220 pounds, but he was very kind and compassionate once you got to know him.

"Just go easy on him, Dennis," she stated, taking another drink from her silver bottle. "I know you like to mess with the younger fellas, including me, but can you lay it off for a bit with us please? Just until we can get a feeling for what we've gotten ourselves into?"

"Not a prob, Spitzie," Dennis grinned, trying to withhold his faint chuckling.

Sheila heard the laughter and quickly jumped on him. "That's an order, Corax," she barked firmly, but calmly, glaring at the raven with an evil grin.

"Alright, alright, I'll go easy on you two," Dennis said in defeat. "For now…"

"Dennis," she said slowly, trying to guilt-trip the avian. Dennis instantly threw his wings up.

"Alright, I'm done! I promise!" he squawked, slowly standing up and walking backwards to the door. "I will not say another word!"

"You're talking right now, aren't you?" she said slyly, winking at him.

"Ahhh, dammit dammit dammit da-" his voice faintly trailed off as he walked out the door. Sheila giggled as she finished the rest of her water. As she stood up, her wrist transmitter buzzed loudly.

"Spitz," she stated firmly into the receiver. She listened as a familiar voice began speaking. Once the person had finished relaying his message, she instantly responded.

"Not a problem general, I'll be there as soon as I can."

**Kennedy Space Center**

"Hey Sanders, did you ever call Colonel Trent about this whole ordeal?" Grant suddenly asked.

"Oh, shit, I never thought of that," Sanders grumbled. "Gimme your phone for a sec, I can patch a call through to him."

Grant reluctantly handed the other scientist his phone, and in less than eight seconds was on the phone with the officer.

If you look up the word 'intimidation' in the dictionary, you will find a picture of Colonel Justin Trent right next to it. He is a big, stocky man with muscles on top of his muscles. Trent is a little younger than middle aged, but he could effectively command an army in no time flat. He had a deep voice, which furthered his intimidation factor even more. Although his stature would state otherwise, he wasn't big into combat. He was mainly focused more on military sciences and communications, which always made for a good laugh in the office. Unlike his physical appearance, Trent was a kindhearted soldier, and would take time out of his busy schedule to see if everything was running smoothly.

"Sir?" the scientist said into the device. "Sir it's Sanders. We've found something, we need you here as soon as possible… No it's nothing bad… It's that alien satellite… Yes, sir, I apologize for not asking for your permission first, but my partner and I were able to decode the data somewhat… Yes sir…" he removed the phone from his face and spoke to the other scientist.

"He'll be here in a sec. Good news, he's in a good mood, and he's always been interested in these alien satellites."

A few minutes passed, and the door to the communications room opened, revealing Colonel Trent. All the scientists instantly sprang up and gave their salute to the superior officer.

"Okay boys, enough of the formalities," he stated casually. "Grant, Sanders, what's up?"

Sanders sat back down and pointed to the large data chip. "Grant pulled that chip out of the alien satellite, and it turns out that it was completely loaded with all sorts of valuable information."

The colonel hummed curiously, and pointed at the screen. "It that what you were able to grab from it?"

"Yes sir," he stated proudly. Trent leaned in closer, and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Coordinates?" Sanders and Grant nodded simultaneously. Trent continued.

"Can we use these to-"

"Send our own observation satellite? Yes sir," Sanders finished for him. Trent nodded in approval.

"You guys already have a satellite built, correct?"

"Yes sir," Sanders replied.

"And you can just program the flight plans to these coordinates?"

"Yes sir," Sanders repeated.

"You two are amazing," Trent laughed, putting his hands on the scientists' shoulders.

"There's only one problem, sir," Sanders spoke hesitantly, not wanting to invoke the Colonel's rage.

"And what would that be?" he asked somewhat disappointedly.

Sanders drummed his fingers on the desk. "Well, we've never tested a long distance launch like this. There's way too many variables that we don't know yet. We don't know this planet's gravitational pull, if there are any obstacles, if there will be any interference from the star or the other planets, if-"

"Alright, I understand," Trent cut him off. He didn't sound upset, he sounded more or less curious about these observations. His eyes suddenly shifted to the chip on the table. "Would that have some of that information?"

"Actually, yes. I'm pretty sure it would."

Sanders turned his chair around and quickly began scanning the files scattered on his computer. Trent leaned on the scientist's chair and gazed intently and curiously at the screen.

"Is that translated?" Trent asked suddenly.

"As a matter of fact, no," Sanders replied. "These file names were in English when we first got them. Doesn't really matter though, the contents of these files are coded extremely well."

"Coded?" Trent echoed.

Sanders shrugged. "Guess these aliens thought ahead… It's not basic coding either, it's got an almost flawless encryption system."

"Damn," Trent whispered.

Sanders suddenly gasped as he moused over a file marked 'Corneria'. "There! Corneria."

"That's the name on the satellites, correct?"

"Yes, sir," he opened the file, but was disheartened at what he saw. "Gah, this is coded too?"

"Wait," Trent interrupted, "That's not coded language, that's measurements." He pointed at a few numbers and words. "See? That's their alien measurement scale."

"Still, I don't know what it means."

"You don't need to," Trent smirked. He stole the mouse from the scientist and scrolled through the massive amounts of information. He stopped suddenly as he finally found a word he understood.

"Oxygen…" he said faintly in disbelief. "This alien planet has oxygen."

"Not to be rude, sir, but I could have easily told you that."

"No, no, hold on," the Colonel said slowly. "I'm still looking. Looks as though the name of this planet given by these aliens is actually Corneria. Must be a company on the planet itself that's sending these satellites."

Another minute passed in silence. The only noise being made was the mouse wheel scrolling though the information Trent was gazing at. Trent suddenly had an idea pop into his head.

"Wait, is the data they took from our planet look somewhat like this?"

Sanders cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah… how does that help us, sir?"

"With a little bit of calculations, we could translate their measurements for their planetary mass and gravitational pull into our measurement scale."

"Aw, sir, you're brilliant!"

Trent smiled and scrolled through the data on Earth the satellite had collected. He snatched up a notepad from behind the keyboard and began jotting down some notes. He wrote down Earth's mass on one corner of the small notepad, then copied down the measurements for the same subject in the Cornerian scale. He then did the same thing for Corneria; copying down the Cornerian measurement and left the other corner blank.

"And the other kids in my algebra class said we would never use this stuff," he chuckled to himself as he effortlessly completed the ratios and had a measurement for the planetary mass of Corneria.

"Wow… It's not too far off from us. Only a couple thousand kilograms larger than Earth. If that's the case, their gravitational pull shouldn't be much stronger than ours. My suggestion for this satellite; try to make it more resilient against the outer gravitational fields, so we can take into consideration possible outside interferences, like you mentioned earlier."

"Understood," Sanders said, unable to comprehend what he just witnessed. He just watched his superior military officer completely dumbfound him in terms of mathematical knowledge. Grant elbowed the scientist, chuckling faintly.

"So, when do you want us to proceed with the launch, sir?" Grant spoke, himself still awestruck with the Colonel's knowledge.

"Well, if the satellite is completed, and assuming you can program the flight plan into it fairly quickly, I want that satellite off the ground in a few hours. M'kay?"

"Yes, sir," they recited in unison. Trent gave them a thumb up, and began walking out the door. He stopped in the doorway and glanced up to the ceiling. After thinking for a few minutes, he turned around and faced the two scientists.

"I want to find out what these alien sons of bitches want from us."


	4. Rock(s)

**Corneria City Suburbs: 3 days later**

Ever since his father had showed him the spot on the giant oak tree, Fox would sit up there for hours on end listening to music, working on schoolwork, or just taking time to relax. The tree branch suspended forty feet off the ground was Fox's one place where he felt free. He felt at home being held off of the ground by the giant tree. He felt like nothing could go wrong from up there. Though he almost killed himself falling from that branch three days ago, Fox felt like that branch was his second home, even if his first home was merely twenty footsteps from the base of the tree.

This day, Fox was sitting on that branch with his back up against the trunk. If he looked to his left, he could see his house, and turning to the right would give him the breathtaking view of Corneria City. The city looked even better at night. All of the massive buildings were illuminated, and it looked like a picture straight out of a magazine.

He had his modified sleek black guitar with him with the special built in amplifier that his father had made for him. It was Fox's prized possession. He got it for his twelfth birthday, and within months of getting it, he learned to play it flawlessly. What he loved about it was that it could switch its sound output from electric to acoustic, base, or even synth with the simple flick of a switch.

He began to strum some of the strings into a tune that he had heard on the radio a while back. He instantly fell in love with the song and practiced playing it for weeks on end until he could play it almost perfectly. The notes were low to start out, and as the song progressed on, Fox began to faintly sing along. He wasn't a prefect singer… well, not like most of the others at his school, but he could do it.

"Keep you in the dark, you know they all… pretend," he sang softly, not breaking his concentration on the instrument. In the same way he sand the first part he echoed the next verse. "Keep you in the dark, and so it all… began…"

He suddenly shifted his handle on the guitar and strummed it in a much faster, more aggressive pace. The volume of the notes increased, as well as his singing for the next part.

"Send in your skeletons, sing as their bones go marching in… again… The need you buried deep, the secrets that you keep are ever ready, are you ready?" He slammed on the strings, making the next verses louder and more powerful.

"I've finished making sense, done pleading ignorance, that whole… defense…" He again made another ear splitting strum on the strings, and switched over to another louder riff.

"Spinning infinity, boy, the wheel is spinning me, it's never ending, never ending, same old story!" He sang loudly, exploding into the next verse.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!" Fox sang, completely immersed in his performance. The guitar was wailing loudly as his claws flawlessly made one string ring out right after the other.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!" he repeated, just as perfect as his first outburst. He shifted back down to his first riff and brought his volume down quite a bit as well.

"In time, or so I'm told, I'm just another soul for sale… oh well… The page is out of print, we are not permanent, we're temporary, temporary," Fox raised his voice again as he finished the verse. "Same old story!"

Fox shifted back to the chorus flawlessly and seamlessly, not losing any momentum in his song. "What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!"

Pretty soon Fox wasn't the only one hearing his music. James and Vixy both stepped out of the back door and watched their kit shred the guitar as his song continued to reverberate through the neighborhood. James had a cheesy smile creased across his face as Fox repeated the chorus.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!" Fox extended the ending just as the actual song did as he transitioned from the high powered chorus to the next verse. The tempo dropped drastically as well as the volume as Fox's paws played the next notes. His voice also lowered quite a bit as the words came back.

"I'm the voice inside your head, you refuse to hear… I'm the face that you have to face, mirrored in your stare…" He picked up speed, but still continuing the same tune.

"I'm what's left, I'm what's right, I'm the enemy… I'm the hand that will take you down, bring you to your knees…"

His voice started rising again, as well as the guitar's volume. "So who are you? Yeah, who are you?"

He shot into another high powered tune as the next words came screaming out. "Yeah, who are you?! Yeah, who are you?!"

Fox suddenly lowered his voice almost to a whisper as he gracefully sang the next words in a nearly silent tune with the guitar. "Keep you in the dark, you know they all… pretend…"

He drew out the last note longer than the actual song did to increase suspense, and when he thought he had waited long enough, he exploded into a high powered and high volume chorus, much louder than the previous ones. The sudden loud, almost sonic-boom sound that emanated from Fox's guitar tore off a few leaves from the tree he was perched in, and rattled the windows in nearby houses. He sang the words in a very graceful fashion, not losing his tune or rhythm.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?! What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!"

Keeping the same loud chorus riff, he slipped into a quieter, familiar verse. "Keep you in the dark, you know they all… pretend…" After repeating that verse, he swiftly reengaged his voice to his high powered chorus, not losing any momentum.

"What if I say I'm not like the others?! What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?! You're the pretender! What if I say I will never surrender?!" Again, Fox drew out the ending as he transitioned into the next words, still hitting every single string damn near perfectly.

"So who are you? Yeah, who are you?! YEAH, WHO ARE YOU?!" Fox screamed at the top of his lungs as he closed out the song with the last six loud strums from the guitar. As soon as his outburst was over, he sighed and dropped his head back on the tree, and let the guitar fall into his lap. There was a serene silence for a few seconds, until two sets of paws broke the silence with a loud cheerful clapping.

"You never told me you were that good!" James laughed, grinning from ear to ear.

Fox smiled and grabbed at his neck. "Wow, thanks," he strapped the guitar on his back and climbed down the tree to see his newest fans.

"I didn't recognize the song, what was it?" James questioned.

"Oh… it wasn't Cornerian music," Fox said hesitantly.

"Not Cornerian music?" James echoed curiously. "Then what is it?"

"It's from System U-8, the satellites were sending back music from their radio stations. They have channels that play their music, and it just got stuck on me."

"Wow… the humans made those kinds of songs?"

"Must be so," Fox smiled, and went to put his guitar away. James stopped him right as he stepped into the doorframe.

"You know any other songs?" James asked, looking at his sleek black guitar.

"A few, yeah… why?"

"You wanna play them for me whenever you get the chance?"

"Uh…" Fox stared blankly at the dark shades on his father. "Sure… If you want me to."

James nodded and followed the kit into the house. Fox ran upstairs and stowed his guitar in the closet in his room, before rushing back downstairs and back outside. Before he even knew it, he was back up on his usual perch on the giant oak tree. A few minutes later, Fox heard a faint sound below him, and suddenly felt a paw grip onto his shoulder.

"What'cha doin', Foxie?" Vixy purred, gaining a comfortable spot on the branch.

"Mom? What are you doing up here?" Fox giggled, watching as his mother struggled to get a good grip on the tree.

"Ah, just wanted to find out what was with you and this tree. Ever since your father showed you up here, that's all I see you anymore is up here."

"Getting lonely?" Fox taunted, wrapping his left arm around the vixen.

"Nah, I just want to spend more time with my kit."

"So, basically you're lonely?" Fox chuckled, which made Vixy's face turn a deeper red. "It's fine, I love you too," he smiled. Vixy purred and nuzzled closer to the teen. Fox suddenly heard a faint screeching sound and saw something just out of his peripheral vision.

"Hey, a meteorite!" Vixy squealed, pointing at the streak in the sky. Fox turned his head and instantly found himself drowning in awe. It looked like a meteorite alright; a small chunk of rock streaking across the sky with a bright yellow-orange tail behind it. It was beautiful, but it still intrigued the vulpine. He had never seen a meteorite glow with such a bright color before. The only meteorite he saw before had a dull yellow tail, not this bright orange.

"Hey hon," Vixy yelled toward the house's open window. "Come look!"

"What is it?" a faint yell came from the house.

"A meteorite! It's really cool, come look!"

Fox was still staring at the blazing hunk of rock soaring across the sky. It looked as though the streak was going away from them, but Fox noticed the rock chunk was getting progressively larger. He didn't know much about physics and gravity, but it does not take a degree in rocket science to know that objects shouldn't get larger unless they are coming towards you.

Vixy noticed this fact as well. "James…" she said loudly, but softly.

"I'm comin', hold on!"

The streak had its trajectory going right over Corneria City. However, as the streak kept inching closer to the city skyline, it didn't get smaller. It kept growing. It had its target in its sights, and there was no way around it.

It was headed straight for the capital.

"James!" Vixy barked firmly. "Get out here right-"

Pain. That's all that could be felt. The excruciating sound emanating from the capital deafened anyone in a 100 mile radius. The blinding white light that poured out from where the streak had stopped attacked the vulpine's eyes. The shock wave that resulted from the cataclysmic explosion violently shook the ground, blew the glass out of the windows of their house, and ripped branches off of the tree they were perched in. As a result, the two foxes were thrown from the tree, landing on the ground forty feet below. The impact, surprisingly, didn't hurt Fox as much as the assault on his senses. Fox landed on the damp grass, temporarily blinded and unable to hear anything but ringing. He only had one thought on his mind.

_What in god's name was that?_

As the ringing began to subside, Fox heard a voice cry out faintly from behind him.

"Fox! Vix! What happened?" James yelled, bending down near the injured vulpines. He stumbled a bit when the ground shook again like aftershocks after an earthquake. It felt as though something extremely heavy toppled onto the ground, and taking into consideration where the shock waves started from, James hoped there would still be a building still standing in the capital.

Fox rolled over and attempted to stand up, but instantly crumpled to the ground as he felt his right leg explode with pain. It felt as though someone had stuck a grenade in Fox's lower leg, and it just now detonated, sending waves of sharp pain over the vulpine's senses.

Wolf shot out of the rattling house and bent near the crippled kit. "Fox! You alright?" he asked, lifting him off the ground.

"My leg," Fox moaned. "My leg's broken. I-I can't move it."

"What the hell happened?"

"I-I don't know," Fox stuttered, unable to withhold the pain.

Wolf cranked his head to James, who was crouched over Vixy. She was lying face down, and was not moving at all. He shouted over the countless car alarms blaring around the house.

"James! We need to get Fox to – _James_?"

James was shaking the vixen's shoulders gingerly. "Vix?" he called out softly and shakily. She hadn't moved a muscle since she hit the ground. Her tail and ears were motionless.

"Ah, fuck it," Wolf growled silently, the raised his voice to get the vulpine's attention. "I'll get you to the hospital Fox. We'll take my bike."

"But, mom," Fox whimpered, crouching down and wrapping his paw around his shattered right leg.

"Dad'll take care of her," Wolf assured. "I'm more worried about you Foxie. Come on, gimme your arm."

"Mom!" Fox called out to get her attention, but she still was not moving.

"Fox, let's go," Wolf commanded.

Fox reluctantly accepted Wolf's paw, and he grabbed the vulpine up and carried him into the garage. James still hadn't made another move, accurately imitating his wife's movement (or lack thereof).

"Vixy?" he repeated with more inflection, and more strength in trying to arouse her.

No response.

"Vix, get up…" James choked, tears beginning to form in the vulpine's green eyes. He tore off his shades and threw them against the tree, shattering them.

Still no response.

"No… no… no no no, Vixy, _please wake up_," James cried softly, lowering himself to almost a crawl. His voice was breaking with every time he repeated his wife's name.

Vixy still was not moving.

James sobbed as he dropped his face onto hers. "Vixy, say something, please!"

Still no response. Not even a tail flick, an ear twitch, or even a breath of recognition.

James surrendered to the fact of reality, and softly exploded into tears. He lifted her limp body off the ground and laid her unmoving head in his lap. He couldn't bring himself to speak again. His voice was too strung out and too drowned in sorrow to work. He could only sit there with his unresponsive wife, making a faint, emotional whimpering sound as tears continued to stream down his fur.

**Kennedy Space Center**

Fifteen confused and petrified scientists yelling and asking questions all at the same time is not a sound you ever want to hear. Luckily, someone got tired of the incoherent yelling and instantly silenced the room with one loud, glass-shattering command.

"SOMEONE JUST TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!" Trent barked, instantly quieting the scientists.

"We lost our satellite," someone courageously piped up after a brief silence.

"Lost? You lost it?" Trent irately shot back.

"I-I-I don't…"

"Someone _please_ explain what went wrong!" Trent snapped, looking away from the stuttering scientist.

"Sir, our satellite malfunctioned," Grant reluctantly explained.

"How?" Trent questioned sternly.

"Well, sir, turns out this system with the planet in it was a binary star system. We never took that into consideration," he responded hesitantly.

"How does that murder our satellite?" he questioned acidly, making the bearded scientist cringe.

"One- one star was much larger, with a heavier gravitational pull. It threw off our satellite's flight course," he explained, stuttering in fear.

"Did it crash into that star?" Trent asked, his rage beginning to subside.

"I don't think so. Our satellite never transmitted higher temperature readings. It did, however, radio in an increase in drag, signifying it came into contact with the atmosphere of another planet."

"So it crashed into a planet?"

"That's what I'm thinking," Grant assumed, continuing to scroll through the satellite's data.

"Alright," Trent lifted his head back up and raised his voice. "Get all the information you collected and-"

"Sir?" Sanders interrupted, holding up his arm.

"What is it Sanders?" Trent questioned, walking over to his station.

"We…" he started shakily, his voice breaking with every word. "Our satellite reported large amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere before we lost contact."

Trent's eyes almost shot out of his skull. "Oh fuck, did we…?"

Sanders nodded with a horrified look.

"We crashed into Corneria."

**Cornerian Defense Force HQ**

The entire city fell into a state of panic.

It all started when one of the scientists at the CDF HQ reported an unidentified object entering Cornerian atmosphere. He speculated that it was some kind of meteorite, much like the McClouds did, but as it came closer and closer to the capital, it did not lose its shape. It retained its shape, and increasingly picked up speed. The atmosphere did not slow this object, and before anyone could get the slightest bit of warning off in time, it struck.

It hit the ground 5 miles away from the main city square. No matter what time of day it was, that plaza would always be crowded. Even at 21:45 Cornerian time, there were still bound to be thousands gathered at the city square.

The object, to the amazement of bystanders, exploded on impact. It wasn't a controlled missile test either; it was a full-on B-52 bombing raid compacted into one measly tube. The explosion shook the city with the force of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. Corneria City never had to deal with earthquakes before, so the buildings weren't up to snuff in defending against them. Five large skyscrapers were instantly destroyed in the primary explosion, while seven others of similar size crumbled to the ground as a result of the colossal shock wave.

The buildings of the capital were not the only things that suffered. As a result of almost half of the city crumbling to dust, almost half the population crumbled with it. Of the 2.2 billion inhabitants of the massive city, there were an estimated 750 million mortalities in this sudden apocalyptic scene. That's three quarters of a billion people for those keeping track at home… gone. Most were killed instantly, as the explosion exceeded thousands of degrees, and the force could rip apart an entire planet if used correctly. They didn't even know what hit them. One moment, they are with their families, as happy as they could ever be. The next moment, they are corpses in a pile of burning rubble, unbeknownst of what caused their demise.

To add insult to injury, the sudden blast obliterated the city's power generator, plunging what was left of the city into darkness. This did not help matters in the crippled capital whatsoever. However, that didn't stop a particular arctic fox from finding out what caused the city to go into such a state of disarray. He pulled out a flashlight and began searching around the massive HQ after the ensuing aftershocks subsided.

"Is anyone here?" Vince called out shakily. He could not hold the flashlight still, because his paw was shaking so badly at the events that had just transpired. First, the ear splitting sound of an explosion. Then the building went dark. To make matters worse, he heard the sound of splintering wood and grinding metal. The only way he could have heard that is if part of the building itself had succumbed to the blast.

He slowly walked through the seemingly desolate hallway, coming up on the doors of the mess hall. He knew there wasn't going to be anyone in there, but it was worth a shot. It was late, way past the building's closing hours, but he was so caught up in his research he just couldn't bring himself to stop. As he placed his paw on the handle, he heard someone shouting on the other side of the hallway.

"Anyone there?" a deep voice yelled out, while the sound of footsteps progressively got louder as they worked their way around the corner and came within viewpoint of the arctic fox. Vince sighed in relief as he instantly recognized the massive raven.

"Dennis! Thank god you're alright," Vince shouted, placing the beam of light around the bird's 6 foot 6 frame.

"Oh, Vince, it's you," Dennis sighed, lowering his large rifle. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Vince stated frankly, tilting back his ears. "I was getting ready to leave when this all happened. I heard an explosion, and the power cut out. Literally right before this, I saw something enter the atmosphere though… like a meteorite."

"So it was a meteor strike?" Dennis questioned.

Vince frowned and shook his head. "Meteors don't explode, Dennis. Something hit the planet and I have no idea what."

"Whatever it is, we need to get outside. It's not safe in here; the building is falling apart."

Dennis reeled around and sprinted down the hall. Vince had to struggle to keep up with the raven, since he was significantly shorter and less fit than Dennis. As they exited through a set of double doors, they froze at a horrifying sight.

The city was almost completely destroyed.

"What. The. Fuck." Dennis squawked, dropping the rifle from his hands.

Vince pulled out his transmitter and tried to patch a call through. He growled as he lowered his wrist after an unsuccessful fifteen seconds.

"I can't get a call through," he said disappointingly, which made Dennis' rage even stronger.

"Great!" he started sarcastically, throwing his wings into the air. "No power, no comms, no anything. Not even a fucking capital city anymore!"

Vince suddenly gasped. "Where's Pepper? We need to find him!"

"Agreed," Dennis grunted, and pulled his flashlight back out. "We gotta find a way to get to his quarters from here."

"Ah, that's easy," the vulpine responded quickly. "This way, hurry!"

#####

"Should be right down this hallw– are you serious?" Dennis complained, looking at the charred remnants of the HQ's main hallway. Turns out, by a sadistic twist of fate, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the capital toppled onto the main lobby, completely destroying it and shrouding it in dust and rubble. Pepper's room was on the other side of the mountain of rubble, but there was no easy way to get around it.

Vince staggered backwards, almost as if someone punched him, and gripped the cracked concrete wall. "What… what is hap– oh god…" he whispered faintly, trying to regain his sanity.

"General? You out there?" Dennis shouted over the pile of rubble. He waited a few seconds but did not get a response. He turned to the petrified arctic fox and laid a giant wing on his shoulder.

"You know of a better way around?" Dennis asked, making a faint glance to what should have been the rest of the hallway.

Vince regained his bearings and pointed at an adjacent hallway that was surprisingly not buried under concrete. "Through there… I… I can't breathe…" he struggled, his breathing intensifying into short bursts.

"Vince, calm down buddy," Dennis commanded calmly, patting his shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Just sit tight, breathe, and I'll go find Pepper."

Vince nodded, and Dennis raised his rifle and ran through the exposed corridor. Vince sat down on a giant chunk of concrete and placed both paws over his face. His confusion and paranoia only increased as he caught a faint whiff of the city's smell.

_Fuel?_

Vince picked his nose up and tried sniffing out the unknown smell. It was fuel alright, but from what? There were no gas lines or gas stations on Corneria, but that smell was unmistakable. He mustered enough strength and walked out of the shattered glass doors and out into what was left of an empty parking lot. The smell only intensified.

"I picked the wrong day to stay late," Vince whispered with a faint grin, slowly walking out to see the skyline over the HQ building. He worked his way around the building, climbing over large chunks of material taken from adjacent buildings. His heart instantly fell into his stomach as he gazed out into the city. The burning, crumbling, _nonexistent_ city.

"Holy shit," Vince whispered, feeling lightheaded and staggering down to solid ground. He plopped down on the front steps of the HQ and buried his paws into his hair.

_That wasn't a meteorite… What was it then? Was it a missile? It'd have to be a missile. But why? Why would someone attack our capital? And who? Who in their right mind would try to instigate us? Do they know who they're dealing with? _

_Whoever it is, I'll say it right now: they're in for a world of pain. _

_And it won't be pretty._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Dun dun dunnnn... XD**

**Anyway, for those of you wondering, the song Fox was singing was "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters. It's one of my personal favorite songs so I figured why not? Haha regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed, and If you guys are interested on what happens next, go ahead and follow or favorite this. Not only does it benefit you guys, but it tells me if you guys are truly enjoying this story and are dying to see more. It's a win-win for both of us! :)**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you guys next time!**


	5. Re-Education

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support for this. I can say, from a first-person standpoint, I can tell my writing has improved ever since the first chapter was uploaded because of the feedback I've received. If you don't believe it, maybe this will change your mindset... ;)**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next time!**

* * *

><p>"Pepper!" Dennis shouted loudly as he sprinted down the halls. The walls were cracked and on the verge of crumbling down on top of the raven. He opened every door he came across, even if he had to smash them in with the stock of his rifle, but each door wielded no answer to his pleas. There was, however, one door left in the hall, and it was the last one he had to check.<p>

"Pepper!" Dennis called out from behind the door, but still had no response from it. He growled and smashed the handle with the butt of his gun, and forcefully kicked the door in.

Empty.

"Where the fuck are you?!" Dennis squawked, holding his arms up in defeat. He instantly froze as he felt a cold sensation on his neck.

"Who the– Dennis!" Sheila gasped, removing the handgun from the raven's throat. "What's goin' on?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Dennis admitted, leaning up against the doorframe. "All I know is that Corneria City has been compromised."

"Compromised? How?" she asked with a sense of urgency.

Dennis shrugged. "Something from space hit the ground. We don't know what it was."

"A meteorite?"

"That's what I assumed, but it can't be possible. It exploded. Not the ground it hit, but the object itself exploded."

"Maybe some space junk or something?"

Dennis responded with a scoff. "I don't know Spitzie. I don't know anything right now. I don't even know who's alive and who isn't."

Sheila held her wrist to her muzzle. "I still can't get anyone on the line. Did you find anyone?"

"I found Stazac wandering around. He's fine, but I haven't found anyone else."

"Awesome! A scientist is just who we need."

"Hey, there's no need for sarcasm!" Dennis chirped, but was instantly silenced by the copper husky.

"That wasn't sarcasm, Corax. Stazac can possibly get our comms lines working. Where is he?"

"Oh, uh… Front lobby, follow me!"

Dennis spun around and started running back to the lobby, when a massive aftershock violently shook the ground and sent the two soldiers to the floor. Sheila struggled to get to her feet and shouted over the continuous rumbling from outside.

"You sure it was something from space?" she asked skeptically. "That sounded like an earthquake aftershock to me."

Dennis shook his head. "Vince saw it. Something shot through the atmosphere and landed directly on top of the capital."

"Then what the hell was that?"

Dennis was silent for a few seconds, then his eyes shot open. "The buildings. They couldn't withstand the blast and shock, and now they're toppling over one by one. One landed almost directly on top of the HQ lobby."

Sheila gasped and put her paw over her muzzle. "Is Pepper alright?"

"I wish I could say yes, but I've been trying to find him for the last five minutes."

"I would say he went home, but I don't know either." She shook her head and snapped back into military mode. "Come on, we need to get to Vince."

**#####**

"That you, Spitz?" Vince asked hesitantly, straining his eyes over the shrouds of dust.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You alright Vince?"

"I- I could be better," he stuttered, staring blankly towards the remnants of Corneria City.

"What happened?" Sheila asked, sitting on the steps next to the arctic fox.

"If I had a credit for every time I heard that," Vince chuckled faintly, then picked his head up to respond. "Well, after looking out here and seeing the damage, it couldn't be a meteorite like the preliminary observations stated. There's too much destruction resulting from one little meteorite… it just doesn't add up."

"Well, what could have caused this?" Sheila asked intently.

Vince looked up at the dark, ash-filled sky and answered. "It had to have been some kind of space junk. A satellite or a missile are the only things that could have caused such a blast. Adding to this, however, is the fact that there's a stench of burning fuel in the air. We don't use gasoline. The only people that could use gasoline is…" he trailed off as his vocal chords got strung up by a sudden realization. Sheila also realized where Vince was going and finished for him, her eyes bulging outward.

"System U-8?"

Vince was on the verge of another panic attack. The one thing that he had worried about when the first satellite started resending signals became a reality. An intergalactic attack.

"I knew this would happen," Vince muttered almost silently.

"What was that?"

"I knew this would fucking happen!" Vince shouted, shooting upward and pacing wildly on the front steps with his head in his paws. "Those aliens just bombed our damn capital! For no reason at that! I can't even put an estimate on how many innocent people they just slaughtered! This is just–"

"Stazac, calm down!" Sheila barked, instantly snapping Vince out of his rant. Vince lowered his ears and continued softly, but angrily.

"If we didn't have a bigger reason for going over there yet, we sure as hell do now!"

"Vince, that's not my authority," Sheila stated humbly. "Only Pepper can initiate war, and we can't even find his ass."

"Do we even know where to look?"

"I can drive over to Pepper's house myself," Dennis suggested. "You two can continue searching this place, and maybe get the transmissions back up."

"Ah, good plan Corax. Vince, you can work with the comms, right?"

"Of course," Vince said with a hint of pride.

"Great. Let's move."

* * *

><p><em>We crawl on our knees for you<br>Under a sky no longer blue  
>We sweat all day long for you<em>

_But we sow the seeds that see us through  
>Cause sometimes dreams just don't come true<br>We wait to reap what we are due_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Kennedy Space Center<strong>

"Do you realize what we've done?" Trent asked almost silently. You could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

"Sir, it's not–"

"Don't you even fucking say it's no big deal!" Trent snapped, pointing a finger at the scientist that bravely spoke up.

"It may not seem bad, but it sure as hell is! Well, yeah, our satellite malfunctioned and crashed into a planet. No harm done, right? WRONG! You bet your asses we did something wrong! We crashed into a habited planet for Christ's sake!"

No one dared to make another move. Trent was completely furious.

"We could've crashed into a place where there's no life at all, yeah, but what if we didn't? We could've crashed into the most heavily populated area for all we know!"

Trent suddenly flushed and staggered backwards a few inches. He started off mumbling, but after every sentence his voice raised exponentially. "We just launched an attack. We, the aliens, just _attacked_ them! We launched a rocket propelled intergalactic missile right at their planet! Well shit, we could try to deny it, but what'll that do? Make us seem like we won't fess up to our faults? You betcha! We started war, and won't back it up! We've lost before we've even started!"

Some of the scientists began to murmur to each other faintly. It finally happened; Colonel Trent has left the building. He had completely lost it.

"You saw the satellites in orbit!" He shouted, pointing at the massive screens at the front of the room. "Those things are more advanced than we could ever hope to get! If their satellites are like that, then lord only knows what their military is like. All they would have to do is _look_ at us, and we'd be up in flames!"

Trent started pacing around the room in a haphazard pathway, not breaking stride in his rant. "Might as well surrender now! Better yet, let's evacuate the city! Scratch that, evacuate the nation! Evacuate the whole fucking planet! We just attacked an unworldly power, let's get the hell out of here before they kill us all!"

Trent suddenly turned around and punched the iron wall will all of his enraged power. He continued his rant as if he had never left a massive dent in the wall.

"We could've killed one person, but knowing my god damn awful luck we killed the president, the queen, the prime minister, the dictator, the 'insert other powerful title here', or any other person that would spark a revolution against us!" he snarled, particularly well for a human.

Trent eventually devolved into hysterics. "Know what the aliens are thinking now? We're uncivilized, bloodthirsty, insubordinate assholes that can do whatever we want and not pay the price. But we're looking at quite the lengthy bill we need to pay!"

"Fuck, you know what? They will just come over here on their highly advanced warships and completely wipe the floor with us! They will basically shit all over our throats, and our face, and our children, and our fucking grandparents, and everyone we've ever fucking met ever! They're like, 'Let me find someone and _defecate_ on them. Oh, you met someone new? Lemme shit in their throat too, because you just bombed the ever-living hell out of our planet, and we're fucking pissed about it!'"

Trent suddenly clutched at his chest and dropped down to one knee. He started breathing in long, drawn out breaths, trying to calm himself down before his sudden spike in blood pressure killed him. He always had blood pressure issues, but this was not helping him one bit. He managed to calm himself down quite a bit and sat down on the cold cement floor.

"It's official…" Trent said quietly, gripping his forehead. "We fucked up. We're fucked! We are completely and utterly screwed over to all hell… Welp… We tried. We tried, and we failed miserably."

He suddenly shot up and held his hands way above his head. "I'm done. I give up." He slowly started walking to the door, still plagued by his mental hysteria. "GG everyone. I'll see you all in hell, 'cause that's where we will end up in a few days."

Trent stood in the wide open doorway, holding his head toward the ceiling. He sighed loudly and turned back around to the stunned scientists.

"Listen guys, I'm so sorry I snapped like that. And don't stress too much about it. I just lost my shit… I'll go talk to the general soon and we can maybe sort things out. For now, just gather as much information as you can, get some concrete examples, some possible explanations, and we'll go from there."

Trent again sighed and glanced at the floor.

"Just don't worry guys, seriously. We'll sort things out. My paranoia got the best of me," he chuckled sheepishly. Some of the scientists soon followed suit and continued working.

"Damn, sir," Sanders laughed. "You went off for a while there. Thought you were having a heart attack the way you crumpled down there at the end."

"Like I said Sanders," Trent said softly, putting a massive hand on the scientist. "Paranoia. I'm sure we'll be fine. Hopefully we can explain to Corneria that it was just an unfortunate malfunction. As long as we didn't kill anyone, I'm sure they wound understand."

"Well, what if we did, sir?" Sanders asked hesitantly.

"I sure hope we didn't, but if we did, hopefully we can explain it was just a terrible misunderstanding. Hopefully they aren't too pissed off at us and are willing to accept a truthful apology."

"Yeah, they must know that we aren't as developed as they are, and understand that accidents like this happen."

"True… I'd bet they had accidents all the time. It's just part of improving. You learn from mistakes. You understand your faults, and work towards correcting them."

"See sir? Nothing to worry about," Sanders chuckled. "You hit the nail right on the head. You learn from mistakes. I'll bet at the most, Corneria will let us off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Hell, I'd bet that they'd even want to help us, considering the fact we went through all that trouble to try and get into contact with them."

"Ah, good point. We went through hell to try to contact them, why would they punish us for it? Unless we blew up something important, they have no logical reason to retaliate. They know we aren't as advanced as they are, so if they take this as an attack, they're the ones to blame. We didn't do anything wrong on purpose. There was nothing we could do to avoid nailing them."

Sanders pointed to a section of his screen. "Right here. Solar interference threw off our communications with it. Not only that, the gravitational pull from it threw off its orbit. We couldn't fix it, because the solar interference like I said earlier. Must be a pretty massive star if it was able to throw off our instruments so bad."

One scientist piped up after hearing that. "Class two blue giant. We're lucky the satellite didn't get destroyed by it completely."

Trent sighed and shook his head. "We may have gotten lucky, but for all we know Corneria might not have lucked out. Like I said, I sure hope we didn't piss them off too bad."

"It'll be fine colonel," Sanders assured. "It was an accident. I'm sure they'll understand."

Trent patted the scientist's shoulder and lowered his head, whispering faintly.

"I sure hope your right."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Urban Corneria City<strong>

"Pops?" Falco coughed loudly in a shroud of dust. His apartment shook violently just minutes ago, and most of the walls and flooring had crumbled slightly. The room was also completely dark, except for some flashes of light leaking through the curtains. The avian managed to stagger around to the front door, then rammed his forewing into the weakened door, breaking one of the hinges and popping the door right open. He had another coughing fit as he stepped out into the street; debris and concrete littering the ground and dust shrouding the air around him. He glanced over and saw that a massive skyscraper that was about two blocks away was completely nonexistent. It would also have been pitch black if there wasn't traces of fire everywhere.

It was an eerie sight indeed; standing in a street with everything demolished around you, with the only light source coming from bright orange blazes being sparked by the felled structures. It looked as if it was a scene straight out of a movie, and that movie used Corneria City as a subject for a pyrotechnics display.

Falco was educated, meaning that he knew that Corneria City could never be susceptible to earthquakes. That ruled out the possibility of a natural disaster, which increased the avian's confusion._ If it wasn't an earthquake, then wouldn't it–_

"Falco!" a dark blue falcon squawked as he exited the remnants of the apartment complex and saw the averaged-sized bird in the street.

"Dad!" Falco shouted, sighing in relief and embracing the taller avian tightly.

"You alright Fal?" Riley said as he bend down and started picking at his son's feathers. Falco ruffled his feathers and whined back.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!"

Riley stood back up and took a long look around the street. The buildings were virtually leveled, and, surprisingly, the only building still standing within four blocks was their small apartment complex. Riley sighed and lifted his wing up to his beak.

"Oh great… lines got knocked out too… What in god's name is happening?" he murmured to himself. He glanced at the fourteen year old falcon leaning against a totaled car.

"Come on, we need to get to HQ. If anyone knows what's going on, it's Pepper."

Falco nodded and followed his father around the crippled building. Riley disappeared inside for a few moments, then came back out with a compact sub-machine gun and a small device. He punched a button on the device, and a door opened behind the building, revealing a sleek, navy blue motorbike. Riley handed Falco a dull red helmet, and stepped onto the bike. After the avians were secure, Riley shot forward and gracefully drove around huge chunks of concrete from the surrounding buildings.

Riley was terrified, and he is never terrified ever. The sights of the crumbled buildings didn't faze him, it was the sights of hundreds, thousands, _millions_ of Cornerians lying dead in the streets or buried in rubble. Men, women, children; it didn't matter. Nobody was spared. The stench of blood and burning buildings plagued the fallen city and assaulted the avian's nose. It was an apocalyptic scene for sure.

Riley tried not to get too preoccupied with his surroundings, but it was like a train wreck. You can't look away. Riley almost lost control of his bike numerous times because of sights he couldn't break his stare off of. He was in utter shock and disbelief that the pride and joy of Corneria; the most advanced and fortified city in the entire Lylat system completely laid to waste by an unknown incident. Unknown.

Riley didn't know what it was. Falco didn't know what it was. The only person that could presumably know what it was miles away, shrouded in streets covered by decimated structures and blazing corpses. The CDF had the equipment to identify it, but no equipment in the world, scratch that, the entire universe could stop it. It was hell bent on destruction.

It was like it was intentional.

Riley piloted around the winding urban streets and skidded to a stop right before the main doors of the CDF HQ. He stood there staring at what had become to the main lobby.

"Not even the HQ could get away from this hell," Riley stated frankly. He turned his head to Falco and patted his shoulder. "Stick with me. We need to look around this place, and hopefully find some answers to this whole situation."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Outskirts of Corneria City<strong>

Dennis swiftly rushed up to the door of the bloodhound's home. Knowing the power was still knocked out, he banged on the door and squawked firmly.

"Pepper! It's Corax! You alright?!"

A few seconds of silence only made the raven's paranoia increase. "Pepper! You here?!" He called out again, almost on the verge of ripping the door down with his muscular wings.

The door suddenly swung open, revealing a gray tinged German shepherd in heavy combat gear with a silver handgun pointed right between the raven's eyes. He gasped instantly and lowered the weapon.

"All clear general!" he shouted with a thick, predictable German-esque sounding accent. He sheathed his pistol and glanced back at the raven. "Thank god you're alright, Dennis."

"I could say the same thing to you Wes," Dennis chuckled, stepping into the medium sized house. It was dark due to the lack of power, but there was still a little lantern on the kitchen table doing its best to illuminate the house. The glass doors on the back of the house were cracked, and the furniture looked as though it had shifted slightly from the blast. The familiar bloodhound was sitting in a chair with his head buried in his paws. He heard the raven's voice and instantly perked up.

"Corax! Great to see you!" he said as enthusiastically as he could at the time. He stood up and shook the avian's massive wing.

"Glad to see you're ok, general," Dennis admitted, returning the gesture. He made a faint glance to the canine in the doorway and continued. "Why's Jaeger here sir?"

"Oh, he volunteered to give me an escort home, and as soon as we got here the city exploded."

Wes Jaeger was a large canine for his age group, standing at an even six feet, and had a very muscular body. His fur was an evenly trimmed hybrid of a dark sandy tan and a granite black color with gray highlights, and his gray-black hair was slicked behind his pointy ears. His piercing deep green eyes stared into the raven, almost intimidatingly, but Dennis wasn't scared of the canine. Wes stripped of his heavy CDF jacket and showed off a tight black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. He had a set of silver dog tags wrapped around his neck as well.

Wes wasn't the one you would think would have much authority on anyone. He was a product of a non-marital relationship between a German shepherd and a lupine. Not only are wolf-hybrids looked down upon in Cornerian customs, pre-marital offspring only adds to it. However, Wes was stubborn, and he wouldn't be shunned that easily. His natural combat talent combined with wolf-like senses and strength made him a natural for the CDF. However, as aforementioned, it wasn't easy for him. He was worked harder by the CDF officers, mainly because they were racist toward the wolfdog.

And yes, Cornerians are racist towards each other too. Derogatory comments towards people of a different species are common and prevalent. Wes was no exception. He had the shepherd stature and fur, but the wolf color and facial complexion. He was, as previously stated, as hybrid as hybrid could get. However, he was talented, and was a great friend of many. That is, with the people that judge based on personality rather than species.

Dennis spun around and faced the general. "Anyway, about that, I was sent to get you to come to the HQ. There are some people there that need your presence there."

"There's still soldiers there? Who?"

"Spitz and Stazac, sir."

Pepper glanced down with a sly smile. "Man, those two need a promotion or something," he mumbled, then picked his head up to the raven. "Alright, Corax, you drive. Jaeger, you come with us. Let's go!"

* * *

><p><em>We crawl on our knees for you<br>Under a sky no longer blue  
>We sweat all day long for you<em>

_But we sow the seeds that see us through  
>Cause sometimes dreams just don't come true<br>Look now at what they've done to you_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Cornerian Defense Force HQ<strong>

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Sheila asked hesitantly as Vince was sitting there grunting at a large mess of wires.

"Yes… It's just insanely difficult because there's no power to affirm the connection has been re-established." Vince explained, wiping sweat from his fur. He stood back up and glanced at the copper husky.

"Here, take this key; it's the starter for the backup generator. Turn it on, and hit the number 5. It should give enough energy to power this room."

"Alright," she nodded, and rushed out of the room and into the hallway. Sheila sprinted down the hallway with a flashlight in one paw and her other paw hovering around the handgun at her leg. As she swiftly wound the corner, she slammed into another figure and dropped to the cold, cracked floor. When she looked back up, she saw a blue feathered wing hovering around her torso.

"Sorry Sheila," Riley apologized sheepishly, lifting the husky off the ground. "Wait– Sheila? You're here too?"

"Yeah, great to see you too Riley," Sheila grunted, rubbing her paw through her hair. She noticed the slightly smaller avian and smiled faintly.

"Hey Falco, you doin' alright?"

"Not really," Falco stated, looking around the hallway.

"I don't blame ya," Sheila said frankly, then shifted her focus to the older falcon. "What's up?"

"Well, we just narrowly escaped that explosion, and instantly came here because we thought there might be some explanation here," Riley explained.

"We're speculating it was some kind of attack by the U-8 inhabitants. There was burning fuel in the air, and the only people that would use that stuff is the humans."

"The humans bombed us?" Riley asked disbelievingly and skeptically, his blue eyes shooting wide open.

"That's what we're thinking. Hey, go into the comms room, Vince is in there and he might be able to explain more. I gotta go and get the backup generator going."

"Alright, good luck Spitz," Riley called out as the husky bolted down the hall. He gestured Falco to follow and they walked down the long hallway down to where a heavy door was wide open. They glanced inside to see an arctic fox sitting on a table with a bunch of wires running around his claws, grumbling to himself.

"Ok, this goes here… and that wire needs to be replaced… damn I need a drink… This one should wrap around– Riley!" Vince shouted as the shadow he cast in front of the large flashlight cut off his vision to the wires.

"Sup Stacy," Riley chuckled, removing himself from the flashlight's beam. He sat up against the table Vince was sitting on and continued. "I, well, _literally_ ran into Sheila coming in here, and she said you have a bit of an explanation for what's going on?"

"Somewhat," Vince grunted, peeling a rubber stopper off the tip of a long red wire. "Our preliminary observations concluded it was a meteorite that struck the city, but once the damn thing exploded we were instantly proven wrong."

He threw down the wire and picked up a smaller green one. "Not only that, but there was the awful stench of burning gasoline, which points a giant 'I did it' sign right at System U-8."

"Wow..." Riley said faintly, glancing down at the dark floor. "I can't believe the humans would attack like that."

"You're telling me," Vince started, wrapping two wires together. "I was the one doing research on these alien creatures for years, and we were always under the assumption that their technology was too primitive and underdeveloped to even make contact with us, let alone launch a bomb strike against our capital."

"Primitive?" Riley echoed, cocking his head.

"As in, the only sign of interplanetary development was a few unsophisticated satellites in their atmosphere, and a few orbiting around the adjacent planets. We never expected them to jump straight to intergalactic communications, so we just left them alone except for sending a few of our own satellites to the planet to get a firm grasp of the civilization."

"And that's when they took down our satellite?"

"Yup… Just a few days ago, that same satellite radioed in an emergency signal when the main diagnostics chip is removed. That's when we speculated that they had gotten our coordinates, and obviously they used them to send a message to us, and not a welcoming one either."

"Man… they really escalated this intergalactic contact in a negative way, eh?"

Vince looked up and stared into the falcon's eyes with a death stare. He lowered his voice and stated as sternly and stoically as he could possibly go.

"You tell me…" the vulpine commanded in a much harsher tone than he expected. "Look outside, look at the pure devastation they left us with, the countless _innocent_ lives they claimed, and all the chaos they've created, and tell me if this has been a negative escalation."

Riley just stood there with a blank stare, pondering the words that had just spewed out of the fox's mouth. He hated to admit it, but Vince was right. It had escalated quickly, and not in a good way.

"Also, I know how the cliché movies go, and I can tell you right now, _it was not an accident_."

"Vince?" Riley said hesitantly as he saw the pure hatred and animosity brewing from the arctic fox. He had never seen him so livid before.

"It's too coincidental…" Vince said, his voice rising with every word. "There's no way that it was an accident because that missile or whatever the hell it was hit the ground almost directly on top of the main city square! There is absolutely no way we weren't targeted directly!"

Riley nodded his head slowly. He was the scientist, he did the research, and there was no way to prove him wrong. Not even in this case as his rage was slowly revealing itself with every acidic word he spewed out.

"Those aliens killed millions, Riley… I don't even have to look around the city to prove that. At least half of the city was destroyed. Half the god damn city! I saw it! There was practically nothing left! Some of the tallest and most stable skyscrapers in Corneria were reduced to dust, almost as if they weren't even there in the first place! Completely GONE!"

Riley attempted to calm him down but Vince kept on ranting. "Pepper told me he didn't want to declare war on this planet unless he had to… If this isn't a good enough reason to then I don't know what is!"

His voice slowly devolved into an enraged snarl, as a spiteful scowl painted itself on his face. "And if they think they can bomb our capital and kill millions of innocent people, and try to just sit there and say it was a god damn ACCIDENT!" He slammed his fist on the table, startling the two falcons. For a few long, painfully quiet seconds he sat there with his head drooped and breathing heavily with his hand indented in the table. The echo of the rattling table reverberated around the small room. Vince's rage somewhat calmed into a low, vengeful growl as he finished his sentence, not looking up from the floor.

"They're in for a rude awakening…"

* * *

><p><em>I won't crawl on my knees for you<br>I won't believe the lies that hide the truth  
>I won't sweat one more drop for you<em>

_Cause we are the rust upon your gears  
>We are the insect in your ears<br>We crawl  
>We crawl<br>We crawl; all over you_

_We sow the seeds that see us through  
>Our days are precious and so few<br>We all reap what we are due_

_Under this sky no longer blue  
>We bring a dawn long overdue<br>We crawl  
>We crawl<br>We crawl; all over you_

_*Rise Against – Re-Education (Through Labor)*_


	6. Missing Pieces

**A/N: I can already hear it now. "Oh, here goes Sheppard again, for the umpteenth time, he's thanking us for reading, he wants us to leave reviews, thoughts, questions, and wants us to follow/favorite if we enjoyed. Blah blah blah shut up already Shep! Jeez!" Well god damn I'm sorry if I tend to repeat myself a lot! Haha anyway, enough of my brain. Chapter 6 is up, enjoy! And please, listen to yourself as I mentioned before. You could do nothing, sure, but anything helps. Anything at all. :)**

**You guys have a good one, and I will see you next time!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Rockford, Illinois<strong>

"What are these?" a tall bearded man questioned to himself curiously as he gazed through his telescope out into the star filled night sky.

"They look like satellites… but for what? I've never seen a design so foreign and intricate before…" He adjusted his lens and focused on a large body portion of the cylindrical machine.

"Wait, we don't put emblems on our satellites… What does that say?" He zoomed in on a faint blue and silver emblem on the side of the satellite. He lifted an eyebrow and recited the words skeptically.

"Cornerian Defense Force? Never heard of them… Wait…" He stepped away from the large telescope and picked up his smartphone. After a brief search, he found his answer.

"I thought that sounded a bit familiar!" he half yelled, putting his face back on the lens. "It's that military company from Star Fox! Man, those games were great. I loved those games back in the day, although they still haven't made another good one since 64." He sighed as memories flooded his mind of the cutting edge graphics and sounds that the game had to offer. "Those cheesy one-liners were the best," he chuckled.

He stopped his reminiscing and focused back on the satellite. "Anyway, that is probably a codename for the damn NSA and their secret surveillance satellites. They don't tell anybody anything. Although, why would they use a video game company though? Star Fox at that. You'd think they'd use names from shit like TV companies and cell phone providers to make it seem less obvious."

He picked up his phone, and switched between the screen and the lens, his confusion increasing with each transition. "They even used the same logo and everything…"

He chuckled and scratched his beard. "Apparently the NSA loves their furries. Wouldn't surprise me if the people there wore fake ears and tails… filthy animals."

He tilted the telescope upwards slightly, focusing on where the solar plates should have been. "That's… odd… Where are the solar panels? If they wanted to power it, aren't those plates necessary?"

He raised an eyebrow as he studied the rest of the machine. It was a strange machine indeed. As aforementioned, it did not have any reflecting panels on the sides. It was very narrow, but long and sleek, with various sections coated in strange plating. The silver and blue emblem stood out noticeably; covering a large portion of the main hull.

"This… what in god's name is this damn thing," he stated, gazing at the machine. "Apparently the government doesn't want us to know anything. They never said anything about these new satellites. They have to be brand new. State-of-the-arc technology. No wonder they won't tell us."

His monologue was interrupted by a loud buzz from his phone. He stepped away from the telescope and looked at the illuminated screen. He picked it up and looked at the message on the screen.

**"****Hey, Nathan! Listen, I'm being relocated to Tacoma for my new job in about a week or so, and I really need help moving. Could you help a brother out?"**

"Sorry man, I gotta work tomorrow and Thursday. Friday's the only off-day I have and I already have plans." he responded. A few seconds later, the screen lit up again.

**"****Oh come on man! I need your help here!"**

Nathan groaned loudly and began typing a response. "I'll see what I can do. If I help, it won't be for long."

**"****Aw, thank you so much! I really appreciate that, ya know?"**

"Yeah, whatever… you owe me."

**"****Sure, sure, whatever you want. As long as it's reasonable… ;)"**

"M'kay, see ya then," he put his phone down and walked back over to the telescope. To his disheartenment, there was nothing in the lens.

"Okay… where'd it go?" he asked himself, shifting the telescope. After ten minutes of searching every inch of the sky to no avail, his phone began ringing loudly.

"Ngh, pourquoi maitenant?" he grumbled through grinding teeth, picking the phone up and answering it casually.

"Hey, this is Nathan Fox, what'cha need?"

"Hi, uh, Mr. Fox? This is the post office. We've received a package with your name on it."

"Oh," Nathan responded excitedly. "Really? Already?"

"Yup. Would you like to pick it up before we close for the night?"

"Oh, yes, thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Nathan hung up and rubbed his hands together. _About time my ACR got here_.

Nathan Fox is a U.S. Army veteran. He fought two tours of the Middle Eastern 'Waste of Damn Time' as it is affectionately called. He had fallen in love with combat after he enlisted, and worked his way up to Staff Sargent rank. His favorite 'toy' in the war was a sleek black Adaptive Combat Rifle, or ACR for short. He was an excellent shot with the carbine, even at crazy distances. After his tours had concluded, he budgeted his ass off to purchase his very own ACR; exactly the way he wanted it. He even spent extra to purchase a silencer and a special dot sight to accurately imitate his rifle he used in combat.

_Well, whenever the zombie apocalypse happens, or a revolution, or anything that requires self-defense, I'll be prepared._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Urban Corneria City<strong>

Driving along what was left of the urban city streets of Corneria City put a sour taste in the general's mouth. Rubble, fire, and most predominantly, bodies, littered the obliterated streets. Dennis drove his truck with extreme caution, since the roads were virtually nonexistent and water lines had ruptured, adding flood like situations to the city for many blocks. As he got to an open stretch of road, he attempted to speed up, but had to swerve to avoid colliding with a grey motorbike racing down the street in the opposite direction.

Pepper instantly jerked his head around and followed the bike. "That was O'Donnell! What's he doing down here?"

"Wasn't that Fox on his back?" Dennis questioned, looking into the mirror.

"I do believe so… Why's he putting that kit in danger like this? The city isn't safe!"

"I have a feeling that he might be hurt… The way he was speeding down this road leads me to believe he's going to the hospital, if it's still standing."

Pepper growled loudly, and sank down in the seat. "I wish I could call them. Transmissions have been down ever since that missile hit."

"You think it was a missile too general?" Dennis asked, turning sharply around a corner.

"There's no debating it. Only a missile could cause a blast as powerful and as devastating as this. It couldn't be a meteorite or some space junk or anything like that. It wouldn't be able to cause this much damage."

"Well, sir, I hate to say it, but Stazac is speculating that it was a System U-8 attack."

Pepper nearly exploded right there. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and his muzzle dropped to the floor of the truck. He attempted to speak, but found himself drowning in rage and unable to make his vocal chords work. Wes noticed his discomfort and spoke up.

"General, you alright?"

Pepper glanced over to the canine and responded in a low, spiteful growl with a tone so acidic it could melt through reinforced steel.

"If I said yes, you'd be sorely mistaken, my friend."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Cornerian General Hospital<strong>

Amazingly, it was still standing.

The hospital was a fairly large structure nestled in between large business skyscrapers. By a sheer stroke of luck, none of the three massive buildings toppled. Well, not on the hospital at least.

Wolf managed to weave his motorcycle around the countless piles of debris and corpses and found a way to the main entrance of the hospital. He instantly propped the motorcycle up and lifted Fox onto his shoulders. He carried the broken vulpine into the main lobby and sat him in a chair. The receptionist hurtled over the main counter and rushed up to the kit.

"We got another survivor!" she shouted seriously, glancing at the duo. Her short muzzle suddenly fell open as she realized who was sitting on the chair. "Oh, you're James' kit!"

"Yeah, enough about who he is," Wolf shot. "His leg snapped in that blast, you gotta help him."

"Alright," the feline responded. "I'll take him from here. We don't need a power source to set it, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Thank you," Wolf said softly, patting the kit's head. "Feel better soon Foxie."

Fox made a whimpering noise as he stumbled towards the rooms with the nurse. She turned around and tilted her ears.

"Wolf, right?"

"Yes."

She nodded and disappeared with the injured kit into the operating rooms. Wolf let out a faint groan as he sat up against the wall. He combed his paw through his fur as thoughts flooded his mind.

The city was fine for such a long time, and moments later it's practically nonexistent. It couldn't be a natural disaster. There's just no way Corneria City was so susceptible to a violent act of nature. It was unprecedented. It had to be a violent act by a living creature. But still, by who? Who could have done this? Only one answer came to the lupine's mind, and it was the only one that made sense.

The damn humans.

Wolf clamped his paw around his muzzle. No, it couldn't be correct. They were too primitive, right? There was no possible way to send a rocket millions of light years away or whatever to directly attack their capital. They knew absolutely nothing about Corneria; why would they attack? Why would they instigate a fight with a civilization that for all they knew could be way more advanced than they were? In fact, they _knew_ they were more advanced. But yet they still launch an attack? It couldn't be true. It just didn't add up.

There was something missing from this puzzle, and the one person that needed to know that was miles away.

Pepper needed to know that something wasn't right. The humans had no reason to attack.

Yet, there was still some sadistic coincidences. Whatever the humans sent, it hit the capital almost dead on, almost as if they had deliberately targeted it. The chances of that occurring without a targeting system were practically astronomical. Even a slight angle change on the trajectory of the object could have changed the course of it by miles. One little measurement change could send it flying overhead, harmlessly detonating hundreds of miles away from any sentient life. So much life would have been spared. Yet, it didn't.

Not only that, but it had an arced path. If it was a targeted missile, chances were it would have struck the city head on, not at the crazy angle it entered in. Only mortars had the capability of a precise angled trajectory, and mortars are only land based. Unless the humans had a crazy interstellar mortar system that could attack distant planets light years away, it couldn't be a mortar.

It had to be something else, but what?

A satellite. A failed satellite.

It hit him like a sack of bricks thrown from a fifty story building. Of course; it explained everything. The humans attempted to send a satellite, but along the way it malfunctioned. That explained the angled path, as it was probably a failed attempt at establishing an orbit. It also explained the explosion as well. It smelled like gasoline, and the only reason a satellite should have gas is if they didn't anticipate an outer fuel source. They didn't know if their sun was strong enough to power their instruments. Gasoline is a great alternative.

It was quick too. Three days since they presumably had acquired their coordinates, and a human object is already in their atmosphere. Three days? That's way too quick. You can't register that much data in such a short amount of time. They rushed the satellite exploration, and it malfunctioned because of the lack of time spent on it. They could have prevented so many issues if they would have just taken their time.

It all made sense now. It was an attempt to get into contact. They were trying to do their own research, much like they have done to the humans for years. The unfortunate downside to it was that they rushed it, and the satellite malfunctioned. It _was_ an accident.

But there was no denying those aliens killed most of Corneria City.

Wolf's head started hurting with all these thoughts, so he stood up and started pacing the room. Pacing calmed the lupine, but not by much. It was only an hour since the explosion, but it felt like a lifetime. Wolf was completely in the dark; he had no idea what was still standing, _who_ was still standing, and who _wasn't_ still standing.

He had a specific name for the latter most option, and it pained him to think of it.

He also had a name for the second option, but he wasn't assured of his speculations though.

He needed to see her. Her flowing brown hair, her trademark smile, and her charming stature were still locked in the back of the lupine's mind. That cinnamon brown husky was still out there, and he needed to find her. But he couldn't leave Fox like this. He was James' kit. Scratch that, he was his brother. Brothers stick together, no matter what. Wolf was torn between the love of his life, and the closest thing he had to family. He had to choose.

That sentence he thought of affirmed his choice.

_Brothers stick together, no matter what._

"I'll just call her," he muttered quietly, pulling his paw out of his pocket. As he opened his wrist transmitter, he was disheartened in the red letters that popped on screen.

"Well, ain't that just a kick in the ass," he said bitterly, closing the watch.

_Go figure; comms get knocked out in the worst moment possible. How am I supposed to get to Pepper? How can I let Sheila know I'm ok?_

_Is she even ok?_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Rockford, Illinois<strong>

"Hell yes," Nathan said as he opened his large silver box that he had received from the post office. The box was a sleek sandy silver color, and had a plush gray foam inside. Along with the foam was a medium sized black carbine with the stock already folded over. The ammunition magazines, red dot sight, and suppressor all came in different packages. Nathan chuckled giddily as he lifted the rifle out of its case.

"Hello gorgeous," Nathan smirked as his eyes ran up and down the frame of the weapon. He lifted it up to its proper stance and again let out a chuckle.

"I hate to admit it, but this one is so much better than the one the army gave to me."

He pulled the small dot sight from the other package and gingerly slid it to its proper place. He pushed his face up against the stock of the carbine, looking through the dot that was displayed.

"Aww, this is so sweet," he said, lowering the rifle. "God I can't wait to use this."

Nathan threw the five extra ammo clips into a backpack, along with the suppressor, and stowed it in the closet of his second story apartment. With the ACR still in hand, he trotted through his small living room and kitchen and walked into the first of two bedrooms in the house. He propped his new toy up against the wall near his desk, and sat down on his office chair and woke up his computer.

"Now, if I can find that damn thing again… maybe I can…"

He shot up and walked to his telescope jutting out of the window. He adjusted the zoom, and searched for the strange satellite. After five minutes or so, he finally located the machine.

"Ok, 14, 720, northeast. Perfect."

He removed his face from the lens and opened his closet. Aside from the numerous worn jeans, the pale blue ski jacket, and the seven hockey jerseys suspended on the rack, there was a large server-like machine nestled in the corner behind a few old hockey sticks. After fiddling with the instruments for what seemed like a lifetime, he grunted and walked back to his desktop.

"Please be right… Just, please… for once in your life be–"

A window popped up on his desktop, showing the familiar silver and blue logo, and numerous options below it.

"Fuck yes!"

His cursor moved over the options, but confusion quickly replaced his elation as he mulled over his options.

"Looks like the Cornerian Defense Force _is_ an actual company… but for what?" He clicked on a word, and his jaw unhinged at the incomprehensible words that filled the window on his computer.

"Okay, I may know most of the English dictionary, but this ain't English." he grumbled confusedly. "Why are the main options in English though? Is this hybrid language?" He stumbled around the countless words, but stopped as he noticed some familiar words.

"Yup, definitely mixed. Scientific English words keep popping up everywhere. This language does look familiar though…" He pulled out his phone and pulled up a translator app. He attempted to type a word in but noticed that a letter he saw was missing on his keyboard.

"Is that a… _b_? …or just a scribble? ...Maybe Korean? Hell, I don't know what that letter is," he grumbled, tossing his phone aside. He continued searching the words on the screen, but it wouldn't matter if he couldn't translate it. It was completely alien to him.

"God I wish I could understand this. Would make this job a hell of a lot easier on me," he murmured, continuously searching the satellite's contents. He backtracked to the main screen, looking at the familiar logo. He groaned loudly as the next option he clicked on yielded the same results; a crazy, indecipherable language.

"Screw it, I give up. I can't understand this shit," he mumbled bitterly, not closing out the program on his computer. He left it on, and would attempt to decipher it later. Right now, it was 10 at night, and he really needed some sleep.

The cold, October air seeped in through the open window, giving chills to the bearded man as he walked over to remove his telescope from the window. He lifted the relatively large object with ease, and gingerly stored it in his closet behind the numerous hockey jerseys. He sighed as he caught the glance of a blue and orange jersey with the number 99 embroidered on the sleeve. He adjusted the jersey, then shut the closet door, as well as the window on the adjacent side. He plopped down on his bed and laid his head on the plush pillow. He looked over and saw his phone sitting on his desk, but shook his head as he thought about his decision.

"Nah, I won't bother him today," Nathan mumbled silently, nuzzling closer to his warm bed. "He doesn't get any days off until Sunday… I'll ask him about this then…"

* * *

><p><span><strong>Cornerian Defense Force HQ<strong>

Sheila turned the key and opened a large box in the back room of the HQ. There were countless switches on the inside, each with a label with a certain number or letter on it. Her claw flicked the number 5 switch, and a faint whirring sound emanated from the box.

"That should do it," she whispered, before walking out and started rushing back to where Vince was. She slid to a stop at one of the windows as a silver truck pulled up to the main entrance. She instantly recognized the dark red military jacket exit the vehicle.

"Thank god he's alive," Sheila muttered, and bolted down the hall to meet up with the general. As she wound one of the corners, the floor underneath her right foot broke up, and she stumbled to the floor in a heap. She attempted to stand up, but already started feeling the swelling in her right ankle. She violently shook her head in an attempt to push her excess hair out of her face, but to no avail. Groaning loudly, she propped herself on the wall and slowly hopped towards the lobby, attempting to put as little pressure as possible on her presumably sprained ankle.

"They're in the comms room!" a faint voice shouted, and pretty soon the husky heard footsteps getting louder and louder. She sighed, and sank down in overwhelming pain as she clutched her injured ankle. She saw a pair of gray tinged ears and grinned faintly as the unmistakable accent resounded through the hallway.

"Sheila! What happened?" Wes shouted, crouching next to the husky. Her canine teeth were sticking out of her maw as she glanced up.

"Ah, just screwed up my damn ankle trying to get to you guys," Sheila chuckled softly, smiling at the group. "Glad to see you're in one piece, general."

"Same to you, my dear," Pepper smiled, helping the husky to her feet. Dennis motioned her in and picked her up, being gentle with the smaller canine.

"You may be strong Spitzie, but you're as fragile as paper." Dennis chuckled, effortlessly carrying the husky down the hall.

"If you weren't carrying me I'd kick your ass right now," Sheila giggled, then glanced over to the general. "And before you ask, sir, I don't have the answers. That would be Stazac, and he's working on fixing the comms right as we speak."

"Ah, don't worry, I've been given a brief rundown. I just need to speak with Vince."

Dennis nodded and started walking a bit faster to compensate for the extra weight he was carrying. Sheila wasn't big, only being an even six feet tall, and a muscular 150 pounds, but Dennis was exhausted from the occurring events that he just needed to sit down for a while. The company of four walked into the only room that had power, and Vince perked up instantly at the large group.

"Finally," Vince grumbled as he jumped off the table. "You alright sir?"

"Peachy," Pepper said sarcastically with a slight grin. "You've got something to say, I presume?"

Vince glanced around the room and sighed loudly. "You may want to take a seat guys… I've got a story to tell you."

Dennis sat Sheila down in a chair and flopped down in the seat next to her. Pepper found another chair and sat down in it, while Wes stood up against the doorframe. Pepper saw the avians and smiled.

"I see the Lombardi's beat me here," he chuckled. "Good to see you and Falco are alright, Riley."

"Same to you general. I was starting to get worried for a second."

Pepper nodded and glanced over at the white vulpine. "Anyway, Vince, please continue on. I want to hear the full explanation."

"Of course," Vince responded before clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. "Roughly 21:36 Cornerian standard time, an unidentified object entered the atmosphere. Preliminary observations led me to believe it was a meteorite, but once it hit the ground and exploded, I instantly knew it wasn't just a simple rock."

The arctic fox continued as he slowly paced around the room. "A few minutes later when I ran in to Dennis, I noticed there was a faint trace of burning fuel. Walking outside and towards the impact zone made the stench worse. It leads me to believe that whatever hit the ground had a liquid fuel source of some sort, and the only culprit that matches the description of liquid fuel sources is System U-8."

Pepper leaned forward and gazed into Vince's bloodshot eyes as he continued. "I already explained to Riley that this is too coincidental to be an accident. They couldn't have hit our capital almost dead on by a stroke of pure luck."

"Wait, what're you saying Stazac?" Pepper asked, hinting at Vince's change in emotions.

"This was a planned attack general, and I'm requesting we take full retaliatory measures."

"War?" Pepper asked hesitantly.

"If that's what these humans want, then we sure as hell will give it to them," Vince stated sternly. "They destroyed _your_ city, murdered millions of _your_ people, and I say we get them back, sir."

"Vince, that seems–" Pepper started, but trailed off as he couldn't find a way to disagree. Vince was right; the humans attacked their capital. He was always taught in the CDF that you should always launch a counter-attack before the opposing forces get another attack off. It's military common sense. But, even in this case, it seemed a bit impulsive. They didn't know the whole story, or at least the other side.

"Pepper… they slaughtered millions… _Millions_… This isn't a minor tragic accident, this is fucking _genocide_! If I were in your shoes, sir, I would instantly retaliate. They didn't deserve it… They did not deserve to die as they did…"

Vince's eyes started to water. "These humans have taken it too far. They took hostility to us the first time we came into contact with them; they sure as hell are still hostile now, and now I believe they need to pay the price."

Pepper tried to argue his disapproval, but got cut off with his transmitter ringing. Vince smiled a prideful smile and sat back down on the table as the bloodhound raised his wrist to answer the call.

"General Pepper," he said firmly. He sighed in relief as an unmistakable voice spewed out. "James! Oh, thank god you're alright."

"Actually general, I'm not ok… I'm far from it right now," James responded in a broken and shaky voice.

"Why?" Pepper asked, confused with his tone of voice.

"It's… It's Vixy…" James faltered as he choked back a sob. "She…"

Pepper bowed his head and held his curled paw over his chest. "James… I'm–"

"Who?" James suddenly barked, changing from a sad whimper to a purely irate growl. "Who did this and _why_?"

"What do you–"

"Pepper!" James shouted. "Who did this?!"

Pepper sighed loudly and paused for a few seconds. "Vince is saying that System U-8 launched an attack. We don't know for sure though, so just–"

"Just what? JUST WHAT GENERAL?!" James snapped, completely beside himself in anger. "Sit on my ass while those alien sons of bitches kill everyone on this fucking planet?! NO! I almost lost everything tonight general! Those aliens almost took my _entire_ life away from me!" he snarled wildly, distorting the call quality.

Pepper was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. He had never heard James loose his shit like this before, and he knew he meant every enraged word he said. He hated to see his best friend devolve into what he was; an angry, confused, emotional mess. He waited until James heavy gasping was replaced with calmer breathing, and spoke to him seriously.

"Don't worry James… I've already made my decision…" Pepper assured, his voice never rising higher than a low growl. "Like you said, they claimed way too many lives tonight. I'm not taking that sitting down. They will have hell to pay for this. Meet me at my house tomorrow… We've got things to discuss."


	7. Get Mad

_"__I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad – worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone." Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad!"  
>–Network<em>

* * *

><p><span><strong>General Pepper Residence<strong>

12 Cornerian hours have passed since the severe tragedy plagued Corneria City. Thinks were starting to look upwards… Sort of…

As a literal bright side; it was daylight. The Cornerian Fire Department didn't have to fight the shadows to work. Most of the fires had been extinguished, but the still found flare-ups every now and again. Luckily, the remainder of the buildings, which wasn't a high number whatsoever, hadn't been too severely damaged, so the millions left without homes found refuge in those office complexes.

Speaking of the people, the remainder of the Cornerian Police Force were able to put an educated guess on the casualty number. A whopping 739,853,000 perished in the human attack. That's more than a third of the entire city's population.

And yes, they're calling it an attack.

The final statement released by the CDF stated that the humans launched a high powered rocket directly targeting Corneria City. It wasn't a nuke, thank the Krazoa, but it was still terrible none the less. It might as well have been a nuke, minus the radiation. The devastation that ensued from the blast was incomparable and unprecedented. It was uncalled for, and everyone knew it.

There were still discussions about the response to this, but most of them leaned over on the same answer.

Retaliation.

**#####**

General Pepper's medium sized home was the only logical place to hold a meeting of such importance. The windows were wide open, letting in the sunlight and the cool spring breeze. It was soothing, but only physically. There were many emotionally broken people gathered in Pepper's house.

Pepper himself stood in the middle of the room, taking the authoritative spot in the house. Sheila and Wolf sat on the loveseat in front of the large window, with Dennis leaning on the right side of the couch. Sheila's right ankle was wrapped in ice, with a large white towel wrapped around that. The other, much larger couch sat four. Fox, with his right leg enveloped in a pure white cast, sat on the end with the recently said leg propped up on the table. An emotional mess also known as James sat next to him, with the Lombardi's taking the remaining slots on the couch.

James, as mentioned before, was indeed an emotional mess. He hadn't slept, eaten, bathed, or even given a single fuck about anything since Vixy was confirmed deceased the night before. That was his wife, his companion, the love of his life; wrapped up in a black plastic bag waiting to be put in the ground tainted and soiled by the blood of millions of others that were also brutally and unnecessarily murdered by that same incident. They promised to give her full burial rights, at James' request. Well, more of a command.

Fox knew about his mother's fate too, but he didn't seem as affected as James. Granted, he was upset; as a matter of fact he was inconsolable for a while. However, Fox was able to "recover" a bit, but James was still not changing. He was still furious. There wasn't much the older vulpine could do but wait. Wait until he could get the opportunity to "talk" some sense into the bastards that killed her.

Vince was leaning behind the couch behind James, and a familiar older hare stood next to the scientist behind Riley. Peppy was lucky to escape the blast too. He was within inches of getting crushed by falling debris as a skyscraper collapsed virtually on top of his apartment. He was lucky to be alive, and he knew it.

Wes stood next to the entrance of the kitchen only feet away from the loveseat occupied by the canine and lupine. There were also two heavily equipped soldiers standing near the front door for protection, just in case. The general broke the long, painful silence and spoke up.

"You all know the situation... I don't need to re-state it for everyone. Everyone knows that the humans attacked us, now the reason you all are here is that we need to figure out a plan to avenge our city."

"It's what they deserve," James said coldly, not making any eye contact with the room. Pepper nodded slowly and continued.

"Yes, we all know that, but we can't go into their world guns blazing, we need a plan."

"Why not?" James snapped. "They did it to us! We should make them experience the hell they put us through!"

"James, we can't just–"

"YES, we can," James argued. "Bloody hell Pepper they murdered my wife!"

After a brief silence, the vulpine continued with his voice shaky and faltering after every word. "If you people knew her like I did, you'd be pissed too! She didn't deserve it… Nobody did…" he suddenly shot up from the couch and raised his voice a bit.

"I know it for a fact… each and every one of you in here lost someone in this attack. Friends, family, classmates, co-workers; gone. GONE! Everyone dies, but nobody should die like that. It's cruel. It's violent. It's heartless. It's a god damn massacre for god's sake!"

"James!" Sheila barked firmly, jerking the vulpine out of his rant. "We get it, alright? You've said it countless times already, and we get it. That's not what we're here for. I understand what you're going through, m'kay? I've lost my family too years ago… And you know what? I was a mess too, just as you are now. Vixy was a great person; I can say that from experience. I'm upset she passed as well, but I'm also upset because millions out there were killed too! She wasn't alone in death… but what you're implying is that they killed her on purpose!"

"Which they did!"

"They killed everyone on purpose McCloud!" Sheila snapped. "They targeted our city. They targeted the billions on this planet. They targeted our lives!"

"She's saying that it wasn't on purpose," Vince started softly. "But it wasn't an accident either. It was manslaughter, not premeditated murder. Well, scratch that, it was premeditated, but they didn't target specific people. They just blind-fired and hoped they found a heavily populated area, which they succeeded in doing."

James began to calm down a bit and sat back down. Pepper noticed a tear rolling down James' orange fur and spoke to him directly.

"James… I understand you're upset, but this side of you is not helping everyone. If we want to get back at the humans, we need your full cooperation, and we can't achieve that if you keep bringing the bad side of you out. If we can't figure out a strategic plan, you could be joining her…"

Fox's heart sank into his stomach as Pepper's words echoed in his mind. He bowed his head and awaited a response. What he wasn't expecting was Wolf's voice to resound over the silence.

Wolf sighed loudly, drawing all eyes towards him. "Stazac, are you really that dense?"

Vince cocked his head and looked disapprovingly at the lupine. "Excuse me?"

_"__Wasn't an accident," _he scoffed, chuckling faintly. "Funny shit."

Wolf was gathering more confusion and weird looks than actual approval, so he began to elaborate. "It may seem sadistically coincidental that a human object nearly destroyed the entire city, but I don't think it was intentional."

Wes scoffed disapprovingly. "You serious O'Donnell? Of all the people–"

"That could kick your ass I'm number one," Wolf interrupted, glaring at the wolfdog. "I'm not kidding. The humans have no reason to attack. Why would they? Why would they endanger themselves like this?"

"Cause they are uncivilized–"

"And so are you, bastard hybrid, now let me fucking finish, _please_," Wolf snapped. "It just doesn't make sense. They have no reason to. I have the funny feeling that this whole retaliation idea is not coming on a solid basis."

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

"This very well could have been an accident, and I can prove it."

"Better say it now, I'm losing interest," Wes chirped, crossing his arms.

Wolf sighed, but figured it would be better not to start a fight with the wolfdog. "If they went through all the trouble to send something way out here, why would they send a missile? Why not a satellite, much like ours? They could research us like we've done to them."

"But, Wolf, it exploded," Vince said, walking out from behind the couch. "Why would a satellite use gasoline in its operations? Wouldn't it be simpler to use liquid elements? Hydrogen?"

"Well, yeah, but what about powering the instruments? They probably didn't know if we had a strong enough star centering our system. They probably didn't know about Lylat."

"What's that have to do with–"

"Power… Stazac, the damn thing needs power. If they didn't know if they could get solar power, they needed an alternative. Gasoline is a cheap, effective alternative, but it's highly volatile. Then again, they didn't expect to have issues."

"Issues?" Pepper echoed.

Wolf shrugged. "Hell, I dunno. Why would the satellite just crash into our planet? Obviously it malfunctioned along the way."

The room suddenly fell into silence. However, to Wolf's disappointment, nobody was agreeing. They all stared at him with confused, doubtful, or even angry stares. James, with the nastiest look in the room, broke the silence.

"Wolf… You're my kit, and I love you with everything I have, but what the hell are you talking about?"

Wolf cocked his head. "What do–"

"How the hell would a malfunctioned satellite directly strike our capital? Directly! Right on top of Winston Square! If you're saying it's a coincidence, it's one hell of one!"

"I know, it seems way to coincidental, but–"

"If it's way too coincidental, then it's not. It's deliberate. A deliberate–"

"It wasn't deliberate! Just listen, please!" Wolf growled through clenched teeth, but James wasn't having it.

"They killed millions! Have you no self-respect? Have you no dignity? They killed your friends, dammit Wolf they killed your own mother! You're gonna sit there and defend them while they plot to do the same damn thing again!"

"They won't do it again," Wolf retorted, but James once again silenced him.

"Of course they won't," the vulpine said with a growl. "We'll make god damn sure of it. We will make sure that they will never mess with us ever again."

"James, attacking them is only going to make it worse!"

"For them," James quickly added on. "Worse for them. They started it, now we're finishing it."

"They didn't start anything!" Wolf shot, completely disregarding the looks people were giving him. "We don't need to instigate them!"

"THEY INSTIGATED US!" James shouted irately. "They wanted this! They wanted the conflict! They wanted combat! They picked the fights! …But I swear on Vixy's grave that it will be the last fight they ever pick!"

"This isn't what they wanted!"

"Ohoho, really?" James cocked his head with a sarcastic smile. "They didn't want this? They wanted to attack, but not suffer consequences–"

"For the last fucking time," Wolf growled loudly. "THEY DIDN'T ATTACK!"

James shot up from the couch and stormed over to the lupine. Wolf got up himself and came within inches of the vulpine's muzzle.

"James, chill," Riley pleaded, but the orange vulpine was oblivious.

"Dad, listen, please," Wolf said softly. "This is just a huge misunderstanding. They only wanted to–"

"If I hear you say it was an accident one more time, I will–"

"What? You'll what? Kill me? Haven't you dealt with enough death for one day?"

James was taken aback at what the lupine had just said. He opened his muzzle slightly with an enraged glare, and slid back his leg a few inches, unnoticed by the room's occupants.

"They didn't want to kill anyone." Wolf continued. "They were curious, and they wanted to research us. What better way than to send a satellite like what we were doing? However, they rushed it. What was it, Stazac? Three days after they took the diagnostics chip?"

"Yes."

"See? They tried to do too much, too fast. If you work fast, your work suffers. They didn't do enough research beforehand, which caused the satellite to malfunction. And thus, this happened. It was an accident, dad. A tragic accident. The millions that died yesterday was the result of an accident. Mom's death, unfortunately, was an accident. Corneria City's destruction was an accident. I know, it's tough to understand, but it's true. I'm sorry dad, but an attack is just too far-fetched… It doesn't add up. It wasn't intent–"

Disregarding any further consequences, James lashed out and slapped the lupine right on the side of his muzzle, making a loud echoing sound throughout the room. Wolf staggered backwards with eyes wide, disbelieving what the older vulpine had just done. The rest of the room was almost as stunned as he was. Every single one of the others' jaws unhinged as the reverberating slap echoed in the room.

James' muzzle contracted in an enraged scowl, growling at the lupine through clenched teeth. "You didn't lose anyone like I did, Wolf. What, some of your friends from the Academy were killed? I lost my wife! Try wrapping your head around that!"

Wolf did not say anything. All he could do was stare at James' irate green eyes with a dumfounded look literally slapped across his maw.

"I can't believe you Wolf… One moment, you made me proud by getting Fox help when he needed it most. But… now you're trying to defend those alien sons of bitches after they just murdered a third of the city claiming it was an accident? What happened? What happened to the Wolf I found practically beaten to death five years ago?"

James sighed as he continued. "You were always the one to put everything down just to help someone. Look at that one over there," James pointed to Fox, who had his ears lowered and the face of a person that just witnessed murder. "You sacrificed so much for him, even though you don't have blood relation to him. You might as well be related to him, because you two are like brothers. What I'm getting at is this… If someone were to hurt him, you'd be right there backing him up."

He glanced down as tears began forming in his bloodshot eyes. "I cared for you, Wolf. I loved you because nobody else did… I sacrificed so much for you…"

Wolf ignored his throbbing cheek and inched closer to the vulpine. He didn't know what else to do. Granted, he understood why James was acting this way, but his actions moments ago were still uncalled for. Right as Wolf tried to embrace the orange vulpine, he lifted his head back up and glared at the gray wolf, his voice rising with every acidic word he spewed.

"And this is how you repay me? Making up stupid shit trying to prevent us from getting the revenge we deserve? You just want to sit there and do nothing while the millions out there would have died in vain at the hands of some god-forsaken alien race? You heartless son of a–"

James again lashed out like a blur, slapping the lupine with more force than before. Wolf's sympathy quickly turned to blind rage as he had been pushed over the line. Wolf attempted to retaliate by launching a balled paw towards the vulpine's muzzle, but James instantly ducked under it and shot out with a knee to the lupine's stomach.

"James, that's enough!" Pepper barked, but his plea fell on deaf ears.

After Wolf had doubled over, James blasted the lupine with a powerful uppercut right under his jaw, causing Wolf to fall backwards and land on the hardwood floor.

"Here's a lesson for ya," James said sternly, watching as Wolf caressed his potentially broken maw. "_That_, was intentional. I thought about it, and I executed, and now someone is suffering. The humans are no exception. They thought about an attack, and they executed, and millions are suffering. Therefore, that makes the human attack, _intentional_."

Sheila shot up and pushed the vulpine out of Wolf's area, growling at him as she did so. She dropped down and rubbed the back of the lupine's head.

"Aww, did I hurt your boyfriend, Spitzie?" James taunted thoughtlessly, only enraging the copper husky more.

"James, knock it off!" Peppy commanded, but once again James was oblivious.

"You lay another paw on him and I'll put you in a body bag just like your wife," she growled, causing the entire room's occupant's jaws to once again fall to the floor.

James' eyes shot open in disbelief at what the husky just said. He always respected the husky as a young, talented military officer, but after that, he didn't know what to think of her. She had just taken a shot at him, almost as if she didn't know who he was.

Pepper glanced over at Wolf, who was repeatedly checking his maw for signs of blood. "Wolf, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Both Wolf and Sheila's jaws unhinged at the same time. "What for?" Wolf asked impatiently, pawing his nose.

"I hate to pick sides, but I'm on James' side of the argument. Even if it was an 'accident', as you say, this attack is unforgivable." James began snickering faintly on the couch as Pepper's words took full hold.

"Are you fucking serious?" Wolf snarled, attempting to stand up but instantly fell back down to one knee.

"This is why. I can't discuss plans with people willing to listen if you are going to keep interrupting with your crazy story. I'm sorry."

Wolf tried to shoot up again but Sheila grabbed his arm.

"Wolf, please, just listen to him. Don't get yourself into more trouble than you already–"

"Oh, _I'm_ in trouble," Wolf growled, jerking his arm free and turning to the rest of the room. "You people will be in a whole hell of a lot more trouble if you refuse to listen to what I have to say."

Wolf glared at the rest of the room as he stormed out. One of the canine soldiers was snickering as he reached for the door handle, but instantly regretted his decision to be boisterous about it. In a matter of seconds, Wolf had chopped his rifle out of his paws, delivered a wild roundhouse kick to the side of the canines head, and thrown him through the front door of the house before the canine could even let out a yelp. The other soldier quickly backed up against the wall to avoid the lupine's wrath. Wolf slammed the door shut, and a few seconds later his loud motorcycle took off and down the street towards the highway. Once the bike's roar became inaudible, Pepper awkwardly broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Now, uh… James, if I may, I would like to talk about our plan."

"If you're talking a strategic plan, general, I've got just the thing," Wes' voice broke in and stepped into the sunlight. "The humans used a 'shock-and-awe' tactic. That's good for a massacre, yes, but it's less than secretive and gives your position away immediately. If we want to deal more damage to these aliens, we need to be more widespread."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Riley chirped with a cocked head.

Vince broke in to the impending argument. "I know where Wes is going with this. We can't just hide out in the atmosphere of the planet because we'll get shot down just like our satellites. We need to attack; swiftly, painfully, and repeatedly."

"How so?" Pepper asked.

"Ah, that's simple," Wes smirked. "We just use the human's tactics. They made it work for them, and we sure as hell can make it work against them."

"Wait," Sheila interrupted. "What if the humans fight back? How will we defend against that?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," Wes admitted.

"Their weaponry isn't ours. It's kinetic. That shit does major damage; I mean, just look outside. We have no way of protecting against it."

"Shouldn't our gear protect against that?"

"You would think, but that might not be the case," she pointed at the gun holstered to the canine's leg. "Your equipment may save you from our own ammunition, but it might not save you from a piece of metal launched at thousands of feet per second."

Wes scoffed with a prideful grin. "Sweetie, if we can protect ourselves from high energy laser fire, we sure as hell can protect ourselves from these primitive 'bullets' as they're called."

Riley noticed the death stare the husky was giving Wes, and put his arm in her path to prevent her from potentially clawing the hybrid's eyes out.

Vince awkwardly piped up. "Actually, the humans have some kind of synthetic fiber known as 'Kevlar'. It is extremely lightweight, but it is stronger than most everything on that planet. They turn that fiber into body armor that is highly effective in combat. That fiber does a very good job in protecting the humans from opposing bullet fire, but, as everything in the universe, it's not perfect."

"Would we be able to use it?" Pepper asked.

"It's a synthetic compound, so yes. We could infuse that with our own gear, and essentially make an indestructible shield."

"I would like that," Wes chuckled evilly.

"Also, unless I forgot to carry a two or something," Vince chuckled at his own joke. "The projectiles we fire have enough energy to melt right through it. If they did decide to try and defend themselves, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Riley raised a wing much like a student waiting to be called on to answer a question. "What about the sky, general? You know I'm terrible at terrestrial war."

"Hmm, that's a good question," Pepper grunted, then faced the white vulpine. "Any answers, Vince?"

Vince pulled a tablet out of his pocket and swiped through some notes. "That could be a possibility. Our Arwings are exponentially faster and more maneuverable than their 'steel birds'. We wouldn't have any trouble taking their aircrafts down."

"Don't they at least have a chance?"

"If they do, even _I_ can't calculate it," Vince chuckled, combing back his hair. "Those aircrafts they have launch explosive missiles. _Slow_ explosive missiles. Nothing Star Fox or Husky Squadron can't handle," he made faint glances to James, Riley, Peppy, and Sheila.

"If they choose not to attack us in the air, our Arwings would be a great option for laying waste to an area," Vince continued. "Their structures are made of the same stuff ours are, just not reinforced as well as us. If they can obliterate our capital as they did, we can do the same ten times over with our weaponry."

After a brief silence, Pepper spoke up. "So if we've covered everything, Vince, how long will it take us to get there?"

"With no issues at all, I'd say the better part of one day, sir."

"Great…" Pepper looked around the room. "You heard the scientist; one day. Get everything you need and meet up at the HQ's landing pad. We'll begin our assault there."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Cornerian Defense Force HQ – Aircraft Detachment<strong>

"Major Sheila Spitz, report to hangar 16 immediately," a metallic voice echoed through the remnants of the CDF HQ. Sheila's ears perked up and instantly spun around to walk to her destination.

"Had to be the very last one," Sheila grumbled as she trotted down the long, wide open hangar rooms. She still walked with a limp, as her right ankle was still wrapped in cloth. Doctors affirmed that she had only had twisted it, and would be perfectly fine in a day or two, albeit it hurt like hell, and she could barely put a quarter of her weight on it.

Each hangar had a specific craft inside, and the husky recognized every single one. Five of the six large hangars were open, showcasing the giant warships that were prepping for the invasion. There was a giant warship docked that Sheila instantly recognized as Pepper's trademark flagship. Pepper planed on housing fifty or so soldiers in that flagship as well as himself, which would completely fill the modified Cornerian Destroyer.

The hangar right across from that one housed a brand new, sleek, silver and blue Cornerian Destroyer with a white canine head painted on the bridge extension. Sheila smiled at her recently completed flagship. _Not the biggest thing in the world, but it's big enough for the job_, she thought proudly. It had enough room for eight Arwings and roughly fifteen occupants. That was perfect for the cinnamon husky and her seven other squadron members. A few of the husky pilots noticed their superior officer and waved paws at her. Sheila smiled, showing off her white canine teeth and waved back.

Another glance a few hangars down showed a massive Cornerian Resupplier. Those were the largest aircrafts in commission. They were twice the size of an ordinary Destroyer, and could fit well over two hundred soldiers each. There was another one right across from it, and both of them were in the final stages of preparation. Both of them were being sent to System U-8.

At the very end of the long hallway revealed the last warship commissioned for the fight. It was the most unique ship in Cornerian military, because it technically wasn't Cornerian military property. It was a giant silver warship, with four large wings jutting out of the main hull, and two massive plasma cannons sticking out under the main bridge. The pale, faded green letters and red emblem identified the iconic dreadnaught warship that was the Great Fox.

The last hangar, number 16, was a small hangar decommissioned temporarily from combat. Instead, it housed General Pepper's temporary office, which saved time from walking around what was left of the CDF offices. Sheila walked in as Pepper was leaning against the back wall, and Vince and Wes were talking by a grid of wires.

"Stazac, you got the Great Fox's lines working?" Wes asked impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.

"Nah, the damn thing isn't connecting. Oh well, we'll brief them once we get there."

Wes grunted and leaned up against the wall. Vince continued to fidget with the wires as Pepper noticed the husky walk in. She was the first to break the ice.

"Hey general. Everything ok?"

"Yes," Pepper cleared his throat. "I called you so we could give you our plans that Jaeger and I drew up."

"Ah, awesome, what's the plan?"

Pepper displayed a map of Earth on the giant hologram machine in the center of the room. He zoomed in on the western hemisphere, and pointed at a few places.

"Alright, as Vince pointed out a while ago, we can easily overrun them in the air. That's where you and Husky Squadron come in." He poked at the hologram, causing it to display red dots where he pointed at. He laid four points on the eastern most coastline of a large patch of land, all very close to each other.

"We're going to attack in waves. Husky Squadron will attack these points here. These are highly populated, highly dangerous cities in the most developed country on this planet. We're starting here, and will work our way inward. Luckily, these cities all follow a linear south-west path, so you can pretty much leave a trail of destruction without deviation."

Pepper zoomed in even further on the cities. The satellite imagery kicked in, revealing large skyscrapers and other buildings completely covering the area around the red dots. He pointed at the northern most point that was right up against a large body of water, and as he spoke, his finger ran down in a semi-straight line.

"I would suggest starting here, a city called Boston. Cripple that city as much as you can without wasting time, then continue southwest. There's another city called New York. That's their most heavily populated city. Once you fly over them, just keep on continuing down that path. The last spot we want you to go to is the nation's capital city. That's where Transport 2 will land, and we'll essentially siege the area."

"Wow, all these cities are aligned so perfectly. I almost feel bad for exploiting this fact." Sheila smirked.

Pepper himself chuckled a bit. "Yes, they aren't the brightest species, considering most of their heavily populated cities are literally right in a row and right up against the coastline. Oh well, makes our job easier."

Sheila giggled, and shifted her glance to the map again. "What about Star Fox? Where are they going?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked. Star Fox will branch inward, destroying some inland cities. There are a few highly dangerous military bases in the middle of the continent, so we're looking to take those out."

Pepper plopped down some points on the giant holographic map, labelling some sites around some giant bodies of inland water. "These are more areas we can eliminate. James will take his forces in the air, while the Great Fox will land in this city here. That ship will house a few more ground soldiers, Wes included. They will overrun that city and work westward, taking out some large military bases in the center of the continent."

"This just seems way too easy," Sheila admitted. "What if we get interference? I'm sure the country won't even let us get close before firing."

"That's where Vince comes in."

"Pardon?" Vince cranked his head around to face the general. "What am I doing?"

"I want you to mess with their satellite imagery. They have a fairly decent satellite defense system, and I want you to hack into it."

"How so?" Vince asked with a cocked head.

"I honestly don't know. I'd like you to try and disable it, but if that doesn't work then try to mess with it as much as you can."

Vince scoffed faintly and adjusted his coat. "Not a prob, general."

"Fantastic," Pepper turned back to the husky. "Well, you go ahead and get some rest. We'll be within range in 20 hours after we take off. I'll brief you again once we get there."

"Sounds good general. Thank you."

Right as the copper husky turned around, Pepper again spoke to her. "Hey, how's Wolf doing? That was a pretty nasty lick he took a while ago, is he ok?"

"Uh, he's alright," she blushed, glancing around the room. "Just a massive bruise. Nothing broken."

"That's good. Listen, tell him that I apologize for what happened earlier. I'll talk with James soon and–"

Sheila instantly donned a scowl as Pepper mentioned the vulpine's name. "Just tell him when we start the first attack, he better stay out of my way," she stated coldly, then swiftly turned around and limped out of the hangar door.

Pepper raised an eyebrow as her cinnamon colored tail disappeared around the corner. He turned to the hybrid, who was smirking up against the wall.

"Man, if I were James, I'd watch my back," he chuckled.

"I hate to say it, but I agree," Pepper admitted, rubbing the side of his head. "If we want this to work, we can't deal with any distractions. I don't want to, but I will bench people if I have to."

"Woah, you're sitting James?"

"Hell no," the bloodhound responded quickly. "He's my strongest fighter. Sheila and Wolf? You bet. I don't have a problem sitting those two out if it means the mission will be successful."

Wes nodded and glanced out the window. "You're right. This has to be successful, no matter what."

The bloodhound nodded and began to walk out of the office, but the hybrid stopped him in the doorway.

"Thanks for putting me with Star Fox's group. I'm itching for some ground combat."

"Don't get to excited," Pepper chuckled. "Don't let yourself get carried away with it. We don't want to do too much if it means we'll be put in danger. We're already taking a huge risk now, so the less issues the better."

"Understood general. And… thank you."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Great Fox – five hours after takeoff<strong>

James was slowly walking down the desolate hallway of the massive Great Fox. He was just getting to his quarters so he could get some shut-eye before Pepper authorized the attack. He was tired. He hadn't slept since two nights before, and he was pretty sure that the lack of sleep was starting to get to him, but he disregarded that thought. He wouldn't sleep until Vixy was avenged.

Just thinking her name caused James to whimper softly.

He missed her already. It was only 8 hours ago that they laid her casket six feet underground, but he still missed her. He just wished he had gotten out there sooner. It was his fault. He could have told them to get down from the tree as soon as he would've seen the "meteorite" streaking into the city skyline. He could have saved her.

And he's kicking himself for it.

James faltered a bit and leaned up against the pure white hallway. His emotions again started to get the best of him, however, they were much stronger than before. The dark thoughts began to take a stranglehold on his mind. He began wondering what was keeping him alive. He could end the suffering right now. He had his handgun in his pocket, what was stopping him from ending his miserable existence?

He un-holstered his handgun and sighed loudly as he felt the trigger in his paws. One little muscle movement could put an end to the hell, the suffering, the chaos, the drama, basically everything that was complicating his life.

He raised the handgun upwards.

The hell was only going to get worse. There was only going to be more complications in life. Why suffer through it when you can end it right now? Eliminate the suffering and find shelter in a better place. A happy, calm, easier, and less painful place. A place where he could spend every day with the one he had loved. The one he still loved. The one that was abruptly taken away from him.

The barrel came in contact with his temple.

It would be worth it in the end. Leave the hell behind and seek refuge somewhere else. Away from death. Away from heartache. Away from the immanent war. The war didn't help his situation either. They killed Vixy, and hell, even he himself could fall at the hands of the humans. And oh boy, what salt on the wound that would be.

His claw tightened around the trigger.

Nothing could stop him. Nobody was within range of stopping him. Nobody could hear the gun firing, the blood splattering against the wall, and the lifeless body hitting the floor. He was perfectly alone, physically, and mentally. An ideal place to end it all.

It was what he wanted. He wanted to end his existence right then and there. He didn't have anything to live for. It didn't matter how many humans he killed; Vixy was still gone. He couldn't bring her back. The only thing he still had was his life. In a few seconds however, he would leave that behind as well.

As he came within millimeters of completely committing to his decision, he heard the faint sound of strings ring out from down the hall.

Fox.

He did have something to live for. Vixy's kit. His kit. _Their_ kit. They raised him together, through thick and thin, through every struggle and every high. Everything. They were determined to raising their kit with their whole lives. He gave his word that he would do everything in his power to raise his own son. Even if Vixy was gone, he still had the responsibility.

_He did have something to live for._

The handgun hit the floor with a loud clang, as well as his knees following soon after. He had come within inches, no, millimeters of leaving Fox all alone in the world. Vixy wasn't there to raise him anymore. It all fell on his shoulders. He was responsible for caring for the kit. His kit.

He was close to kicking his own tail again. What was he thinking? Blowing his brains all over the wall would not solve anything. It would only cause more problems. Pepper would go berserk knowing that the humans caused James to take his own life. They almost drove him to the brink of insanity. He would make them experience utter hell. Merciless, devastating, vengeful hell.

And Fox? Fox wouldn't have a family anymore. He would be more alone than James was. Granted, he had Wolf, but what was he? A stray and an outcast brought in by his mercy? He had no McCloud bloodline, and he never would. He would always be known as the outcast, the lone-wolf. The only thing he had to his name was the fact that he lived with the McClouds.

Wolf loved his "family" like it was his own. For five years he stayed under their wing, and acted as though he had been with the family since day one. He was everything a parent could hope for, and for Wolf, a family that he always wanted. After being beaten, neglected, and abandoned by his original family, he longed for someone to have just an ounce of compassion towards him. He was always brushed aside or ignored on the streets. It took him the better part of three months just trying to survive on urban streets, until he found James. James instantly gave him a room in their home; a place where he could always be welcomed. For five years he lived there. Those five years were plenty of time for Wolf to get his feet back under him again. He worked hard, graduated from the Academy, and as of recently got himself the best job he could ever ask for, and the best companion he could ever ask for.

But what happened at Pepper's house changed everything. James could have disowned him right then and there. What he did to the lupine though, he might as well have just said it. He slapped him; hell, he kicked his ass when he retaliated. It was like those two had never met. But, he couldn't just dump him away and be done with it. He was close to Fox. Fox was close to him. They were "brothers". Although what he did to Wolf was heartless to say the least, at least he still had a heart. That heart could not separate two brothers. He would never hear the end of it from Fox if he removed Wolf from his life. As stated before, he was close, as two brothers should be. Fox couldn't have his own bloodline brother anymore–

James shook his head violently as the dark thoughts attempted to swarm him again. He made a long glance at the handgun that was lying on the floor feet away from where he was kneeling.

He couldn't be tempted to end the suffering. He couldn't take the coward's way out. He wasn't a coward. He would endure the suffering, endure the utter hell he would experience as long as it meant that his life was worth something to someone. He would never fall victim to a coward's mentality. He had the mentality of a warrior, a leader, a friend, a father, and a hero.

He was James McCloud, and he would endure the hell. The hell of war. And he would triumph.

He stood back up, wiped the countless tears from his fur, and slowly crept up to the door where Fox was. His guitar was playing a faint acoustic tune as he heard the vulpine singing along. He popped his head through the door, and watched as Fox's paws flawlessly strummed the strings, but once Fox noticed his father walk in, he instantly stopped and talked to him.

"Dad? You… you alright?"

James' ears were folded over, and his muzzle was drooped low. He let out a sigh as he walked over and sat on the kit's bed.

"As long as you're here Fox…" he faltered, choking back a sob as tears began forming in his eyes.

"I couldn't be any better."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hoo boy, that one was a doozy, lemme tell ya. Don't worry, I promise the next chapters won't be as long as this one... maybe...**

**Anyway, that aside, I hope you guys enjoyed the super long ass chapter, and I'll see you guys next time!**


	8. Phantom Dots

**A/N: Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I put a link to a playlist with songs relevant to this story on my profile. It'll get updated as the story goes along.**

**I've also noticed that I've been getting a bunch of guest reviews as of late. That is awesome! I also do encourage anybody and everybody, whether you're a guest, an anonymous viewer, or a well known figure, that you are welcome to leave your opinions. At the time of writing this currently, I have 22 reviews so far, and in all honesty, that's 22 more than I'd thought I'd get. You guys have blown my expectations out of the water and out into the stratosphere. For that, from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you. Stay awesome you guys! ;)**

**You guys have a good one, and enjoy this next update!**

* * *

><p>"Sheila! Get back in formation!" a loud authoritative voice commanded as her Arwing dipped low to the ground.<p>

"There's a guy locked on to you, I'm taking him out," she responded, barraging the ground with laser fire.

"No! Get your ass back up here!" he shouted again, this time diving his Arwing down, trying to persuade the copper husky to leave. She refused, and continued firing on the ground below; wasting any opposition she had.

"You're gonna get yourself killed!" he pleaded.

"Worry about your own hide," she spat, rolling to the left to dodge an oncoming rocket.

"I don't want to lose you!" he cried out, closely pursuing the husky.

"Wolf, I'll be fine, just let me– oh shit!"

"Sheila!"

**Husky Destroyer**

The copper husky jerked wide awake in a cold sweat, panting heavily. Her heavy red and black flannel blanket was wrapped tightly around her, and the heat from the blanket was only making her condition worse. She tore off the blanket, tossing it on the other side of her bed, and shot up to regain her breath. She flung her legs over the bedside and dipped her head low, still continuing to breathe heavily.

Her bedroom on the small Destroyer was as standard as standard could get. Only a bed, a small desk, a closet, and a very basic restroom filled the room. A dim light shot into her room from the windows; glistening off of her recently dampened snowy white and light copper fur. She removed her light sleeveless shirt and attempted to dry off her sweat permeated arms and face, then tossed the shirt on the other side of the room by the closet.

"You alright in there?" a faint voice called out, tapping lightly on her metal door. The husky couldn't say a word; not even a grunt of recognition. She continued to lay on her bedside, trying to remove the nightmare from her mind.

"Sheila?" the voice said with more inflection, with the bangs on the door becoming louder as well. Sheila bolted back up in a sitting position, but then sighed in relief as she instantly recognized the voice. She fell back on the bed, swiftly wrapped the flannel blanket tightly around her exposed frame, and closed her eyes.

"It's open," she said sleepily, then watched as a tall gray wolf gingerly stuck his head in the doorway, and chuckled at the husky.

"Hey babe," Wolf smiled as he walked all the way in the room, and shut the door with his foot. He chuckled at the husky, which caused her to instantly look into the mirror next to her bed. She gasped as she realized her fur was severely matted, and her long light brown hair was scattered erratically. She noticed that he was staring at her storm of hair, blushed noticeably, and wrapped a small blanket around her head haphazardly.

"You just had to walk in right now?" she groaned, muffled by the thick blanket wrapped around her muzzle.

"You don't need to be so self-conscious about yourself around me," Wolf said, sitting on her bedside.

"Yes I do," her muffled voice snuck out of the blanket. Wolf chuckled and attempted to pull the blanket off of her, but only moved enough of it to reveal one of her pale blue eyes.

"Hi," Wolf half-shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wolf, please," Sheila whined, shaking her head around faintly. Wolf refused to take no for an answer and pulled on the blanket with more strength. He only succeeded in sliding the husky a few centimeters towards the edge of the bed.

"You coming out or what?" Wolf laughed, repeatedly poking his paw into her shoulder.

"Not until you leave."

"Fine, I'll just take the other blanket off," he announced, and put a paw on the thick flannel blanket. Just as the lupine planned, she swiftly transitioned her grip between the two blankets, which gave Wolf the perfect opportunity to yank the smaller blanket off of her head. In doing so, it caused the husky's hair to become even more of a mess as it drooped in front of her eyes.

"Gotcha!" Wolf said in triumph, and got a faint grin from the husky on the bed.

"Argh," she groaned, playfully backpawing the lupine's shoulder. Wolf again took the opportunity he was presented with by grabbing the husky's arm, and nuzzled closer to the canine. All she did was bury her head in the flannel blanket to avoid his ongoing playful assault.

"Sheila…" Wolf cooed slowly in a smooth voice. "You can't hide forever…"

The husky groaned loudly and revealed her matted face. "What?" she commanded with a smile, shaking the hair out of her face.

"I love you," Wolf chuckled, sneaking a kiss on the side of her maw. "See? Was that so bad?"

"I guess not," she smirked, then brought the lupine in for a longer kiss. "I love you too Woof," she giggled sleepily, then rested her muzzle on his shoulder. Wolf chuckled at the childish name that Sheila had just given him, then stretched out next to her on the small bed in her quarters.

"Why the big blanket, She?" Wolf asked, tugging at the red and black flannel blanket wrapped around her. Sheila glanced down at the blanket and turned almost as red as the blanket itself.

"Oh, I– um… I, uh," she stuttered, tightening the blanket around her torso. She made a faint glance to her closet, which Wolf tracked and he himself looked in that direction. He donned a cheesy smile as he noticed the bunched up shirt in the corner and lowered his voice.

"What'cha wearin'?" Wolf asked tauntingly, which caused Sheila's rosy cheeks to burn even brighter.

"Wolf, can I please get dressed?" she whined, glancing longingly at the lupine. "I've only got my– err…"

Wolf busted up laughing. "Oh, come on! It's not that big of a deal. Hey, we've been together for almost a week, maybe you should stop hiding from me so much," he winked, getting a grin from the husky wrapped in the blanket. Wolf noticed that she had been acting a bit jumpy and reclusive around him lately, so he inched closer to the husky and put his maw near her face.

"You're hiding something right now, aren't you?" he said slyly, trying to hide his grin.

"Wolf, please let me get my clothes on," she said, unable to keep a straight face. Wolf chuckled to himself and expertly exploited the husky's obvious ruse.

"You don't want to put them back on."

"Wolf!" Sheila whined like a five-year-old girl.

"And you don't want me to leave either."

Sheila realized her ruse had been shattered like glass, so she retreated into her warm flannel fortress. "Wolf, stop," she complained, but Wolf wasn't stupid enough to fall for it. He jumped back on the attack and stuck his muzzle deep into her protective filed.

"All you gotta do is ask, babe," Wolf cooed, flicking his tail wildly. "We both know what you're hiding."

"Wolf, I don't–"

"Don't you even try lying," he chuckled, wrapping his arms around the blanketed figure. "Lying isn't a good relationship booster."

Sheila stuck the tip of her muzzle out of the blanket. "I don't want to right now," she said pitifully, then retreated back into the blanket.

"Oh, not right now?" he echoed excitedly. Sheila fell for his trap, and instantly regretted it.

"Dammit Wolf you know what I mean," she snapped, but the damage had already been done.

"What _you mean_ is that you want me," Wolf said, almost proudly and matter-of-factly. "And it's noticeable, Sheila. You wouldn't be trying to hide from me if it wasn't true." After a few seconds of Wolf pestering her by smacking her back with his tail, her rosy face popped out of her makeshift defense. She hesitated, but eventually rubbed her muzzle on his shoulder.

"Fine… You caught me…" she said disappointingly, then donned a sly smile as her pale blue eyes shot right into Wolf. "You're not planning anything later, are you?" she asked intently, twirling her tangled hair.

Wolf blushed noticeably and felt his emotions start to flare up. "Um, I don't– oh," he recoiled as she wrapped her arms around the lupine's neck. His arousal increased as he noticed what the husky was trying to hide; a very skimpy and almost translucent clothing article covering what Wolf had been attracted to all these years.

"I think we have a little bit of time," she said seductively, removing the blanket from her frame. Wolf instantly turned red faster than a traffic light.

"You're a naughty husky," Wolf responded in his own smooth voice as he felt her paws slowly work to his waist. Sheila started to pull off the lupine's shirt, but he stopped her halfway.

"Are you sure Sheila? I was just teasing you, you don't have to– oh maybe you do," he smiled as the rest of his shirt came flying off.

"Yes, _I_ want to," she responded and pulled the lupine onto the bed. She instantly attacked Wolf's face and locked him into a kiss so long that is was on the verge of suffocating both of them. After the husky caught her breath, she gazed into Wolf's violet eyes with a sly smirk.

"Do you?"

* * *

><p><span><strong>General Pepper's Flagship<strong>

"How's the translator coming, Vinny?" Dennis asked, pointing at his numerous computer screens and the small gray device that was virtually taken apart piece by piece, showing all of the wires and chips. Vince grunted and made a glance to the raven.

"Good… good," he said faintly, then focused back on the screens.

"How far along are ya?"

"Umm…" Vince combed back his hair as he turned around to face the bird. "I've got most of the vocabulary down, but I'm still working on slang and different terminology. It's very tedious and time consuming work."

"I can tell," Dennis chuckled, then pulled up a chair and sat next to the fox. "Can I test it?"

Vince nodded and reassembled the transmitter quickly, then punched in a few buttons. "I actually haven't tried it yet," the vulpine admitted, continuously typing into the wrist transmitter.

"Better now than never."

He smiled as a faint beep resounded from the device. "Say something," he commanded, putting the wrist device up to Dennis' beak.

"You gotta be– Woah, what the hell?"

Vince laughed as the raven was rendered incomprehensible by the device. The translator addition took in surrounding words and processed them in a very small, but highly efficient chip in the processor. Before the sound waves from the person talking could make it to the ears of another person, the device would replace those sound waves with different pitches and frequencies, completely changing the dialect. It would still keep the same tone of voice, but all it would do is make communication easier.

"Hmm, that's what this 'English' sounds like," Vince chuckled, disabling the device.

"Ugh, that was nasty," Dennis groaned, ruffling his feathers. "Sounded like I was choking on my own tongue."

Vince again had another laughing fit at his comment, and continued work on the translator. "Like I said, I'm not finished yet. This is just a rough example. I'll have the full version hopefully in the next two hours or so."

"That's good. Pepper said we're about five hours out, so you got time."

"Awesome. Take care Denny," Vince smiled, swiping at the raven as he slowly walked away. Dennis waved as he wound the corner and made his way from the second story of the large flagship towards the elevator. A quick moment later Dennis was on the fourth story, and mere feet away from the main bridge. Right as the raven walked into the large room, a pale blue holographic vulpine popped on Pepper's screen, with the general himself standing near the screen.

"Hey Pepper. You got something?" James said statically, cocking his holographic head.

"I just have a quick question for you, James."

James nodded and waited for Pepper to continue. "So, I understand you and the rest of Star Fox will go in to the tenth sector a little after Husky Squadron's initial attack, but I'm calling to affirm your team's condition. I'm assuming you're not letting Wolf fly, correct?"

"Of course not," James responded. "He doesn't want to be a part of this, and I don't _want_ him to be either. I actually offered Wes the open spot, if that is alright with you."

Pepper nodded slowly with a faint grin. "I don't blame you in the slightest. Wes is an incredible soldier, and Wolf has been a bit of a problem lately."

"You're telling me." James growled softly. "Don't get me wrong, sir, I love him to death, but I don't feel comfortable fighting next to him; especially in a situation like this. With his viewpoint on this upcoming war, I have a feeling he might turn on us."

"Is he on the Great Fox now?"

"Nah, he's aboard the Husky's Destroyer. I'm assuming he's working as a bridge attendant, but I have no idea. Probably just wanted to be with _her_," he said the last word with a very sour inflection.

Pepper grunted softy, then glanced back up at the vulpine. "Do you remember Jason and Alice? The Spitzs?"

"I think so. Why? What happened with them?"

"The same thing you are speculating about Wolf," Pepper stated, sitting down in the nearest chair. "We had an insurgent years ago… He fought on our side for years to gain our trust, and suddenly one day he went ballistic, killed about fifty or sixty people. Sheila's parents were two of those killed."

James suddenly had a change of heart. He instantly felt sorry for the husky, and understood why she had acted the way she did yesterday. She _had_ understood what it was like to have family abruptly taken away at the hands of the enemy. He sighed and held a paw over his chest.

"What I'm getting at is that you could always have that one person that turns," the bloodhound continued. "I wouldn't directly label Wolf as an insurgent, but I would keep an eye on him if you do allow him to fight."

"Don't worry general," James assured. "I'm not letting him anywhere around me with a weapon. I don't trust him enough. Like I said, I'm replacing him with Wes for now, and once we waste this god-forsaken planet, I'll let him back in…"

"Good plan James… We're about five hours out, so– Oh hey Dennis, how long have you been standing there?"

"Just a while," the raven chuckled, coming into viewpoint of the holographic vulpine. "I came up to tell you guys that Vince is almost done with the translator."

"How's it sound?" James asked with a faint smile.

Dennis laughed and stuck part of his tongue out of his beak and started imitating the words he inadvertently said due to the translator, causing the two mammals to burst into laughter. Dennis waited for the two to completely focus back and spoke up.

"So general, you've got plans drawn up for all the others, what'cha got for me?"

"You're going in with Transport 2. They are landing on the surface on the main nation's capital, and we're expecting some tough interference, so I'd like you to command the entire group."

Dennis smiled and nodded faintly. "Love the plan general. Let me know when it's time," he said as he slowly backed toward the door.

"Alright Dennis, you get some rest," Pepper announced as the door shut behind his tail feathers. He transition his glance back to the holographic vulpine.

"Anyway, you know your plan, right James?"

"Of course… Tenth sector first, then move inward from there. Destroy anything and everything." Pepper nodded in approval with a slight smile creased on his muzzle.

"One thing I forgot to ask a while ago," James quickly added. "Why didn't we authorize more than just our small fleet? Couldn't have we just used more ships and just wasted the planet without having to go on ground?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, James, that was my first idea, but that would be too easy."

"Isn't that what we want?" James asked with a tilted head.

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't, but we actually _can't_," Pepper explained, slowly pacing around the vulpine's vision on the screen.

"Did we not have enough pilots or ships?"

"Plenty of those, but not enough of the rest," Pepper responded. "I'm talking about resources… We can't just swoop in and carpet-bomb everything because it's a waste of our weaponry. A large portion of the army's resources were destroyed as a result of that damn missile, and we have a very limited amount for our missions."

"Oh, I understand now," James grinned. "We're only hitting specific areas, because we don't want to waste weaponry on areas that don't matter."

"Exactly."

James hummed curiously, then asked another question to the bloodhound. "Also, why are we isolating our attacks on this country? Shouldn't we spread out and attack the entire planet?"

"Well, shouldn't we start with the culprit first?"

"Culprit?" James echoed disbelievingly.

"Vince never told you?"

"Told me what?"

Pepper chuckled to himself and leaned on the hologram machine. "Vince was able to track signatures from that missile to that country. We don't know where it was exactly launched from, but we know for certain it was from there."

"Ahh, so that's why we're going after them first."

"Indeed. That's why we're focusing our preliminary assault there. After that country is nothing more than a parking lot, we move on to the rest of the planet. Simple."

James nodded, then a faint voice started yelling in the background behind him. James chuckled and faced the direction of the voice.

"I'll be there in a second Fox," he shouted, then faced the bloodhound again. "Alright, I gotta go. I'll let you know how the assault on my end goes."

"Okay, good luck out there James."

"Thanks general," he said, then turned to face the voice again. "No, Fox, not that! The other one!" James walked out of the view of the hologram machine, but his voice could still be heard in the background. "Fox I told you the–"

Pepper laughed as James was cut off mid-sentence as the holograph machine disconnected. He sighed, sat back in his chair, and then looked at his watch.

_Alright humans… You've got a few hours to have your fun, then all hell will break loose. Clock's ticking…_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Pepper's Flagship – Communications Room – 5 hours later<strong>

"Oh, screw your coding," Vince grumbled to himself sarcastically, scanning trough his triple monitor setup at his station. He had countless machines wired to a massive supercomputer, and basically had the entire network of anything and everything at his paws. He combed his paw through his snowy hair and continued murmuring to himself.

"Come on…" he growled softly, waiting for the auto-conversion mechanism to finish. "Can't do anything if I can't read anything…"

The machine beeped, and the incomprehensible lines on the screen pixelated, and were swiftly replaced with a recognizable language for the arctic fox. He smiled faintly as he mulled over his options.

"Alright… Doesn't look like I can disable it right away… bummer…" He punched in a few keys, then messed with a long string of computer coding.

"I can overload it… Maybe cause it to malfunction, then it'll shut down on its own… Perfect…"

He followed through on his own script, typing specific Cornerian counter-coding into the Earth satellite. However, unlike his seemingly perfect script in his head, the satellite stayed online and began transmitting many numerous signals.

"Shit. What'd I do? What'd I do?" Vince panicked, trying to assess his work. However, the satellite's sudden burst of other communications impeded his progress significantly. He attempted to type in every kill code or virus he could think of off the top of his head, but the satellite kept interrupting him.

"Oh come on," Vince grumbled a bit louder than he should have. "The Huskies are practically on top of them and I can't disable this damn thing?" He picked up his head and shouted across the room. "Travis! Kill the damn transmitters will ya?"

"On it," another voice shouted, and within moments the numerous signals froze in place. "Hurry up and kill it; I can't hold it steady for much longer."

The vulpine struggled for a few more seconds before finally finishing his implementation of a highly destructive virus into the satellite. Within a minute, the entire satellite grid was terminated, and communications on the planet's surface instantly ceased. He sighed rather audibly and sat back in his office chair.

"Well that worked just perfect," Vince grumbled bitterly, then raised his voice. "Hey Arti, did you catch anything they were transmitting?"

"Not too much, but quite a bit," a blue jay responded, not looking up from his screen. "They made a ton of calls, and a few people on the ground tried to reestablish connections."

"Did any of them go through?" Vince asked, walking over to the small avian.

"Only a few, but I was able to kill 'em off before they got to our grid," he responded proudly. "I was able to translate a call saying they authorized A-10's… whatever those are."

"Probably computer code terms... Don't worry about it. Good work Arthur."

Vince patted the avian's back as he turned around and sat back at his station. He growled softly and slouched back, eyeing the screens and caressing his muzzle.

"Hopefully it was as stressful for them as it was for us…"

* * *

><p><span><strong>North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) HQ – Peterson Air Force Base – Colorado Springs, Colorado<strong>

"Uh, McChord base, we're reading fifty bogeys in your sector, heading south east of Vancouver, can you verify?" the main station controller called out, glancing at his radar screens.

The controller at the McChord base chuckled. "Very funny station. Scopes are clear. ACS might be malfunctioning, over."

The main station controller grunted and took a longer look at the radar. Ten red triangles were indeed on the scope in formation, quickly advancing on the McChord base. Something wasn't right.

"Station control, please run diagnostics on ACS feed, over."

Another faint voice came on the call in the background. "There might be a glitch in the module. Try running a quick reboot of the system."

The main controller was about to disengage the radar for a quick restart, but noticed something down lower on the screen. He gasped and quickly called another station. "Vandenberg station, we've got eyes on seventy more bogeys heading east north east in your sector, please verify."

"Uh, negative, station," The Vandenberg controller responded skeptically. "Skies are clear. Something's definitely bugged on your end, over."

The controller groaned and punched a few buttons on his screen. The red triangles kept flashing on the screen, and were quickly advancing on shore. However, from what the smaller Air Force bases' controllers were telling him, they weren't there at all.

"Running diagnostics on echo sector, scanning for malfunction," another person said across the room.

The controller backed up and spoke to another transmissions manager. "Why's it bugging out so bad? It never does this."

"Yeah, that is really strange," the Vandenberg controller agreed. "Usually ACS doesn't glitch out like this. Hopefully it was just a bit of solar interference. There is some heavy sun spot activity today."

"I sure hope your right," the main controller agreed, watching as the dots from both sectors kept inching closer to land. The room gradually became louder as more voices started piping up and machines started whirring louder.

"Diagnostics initiated, approximately three minutes."

"PAVE PAWS disengaged, over."

"Station Control, this is Nellis Air Force Base, scopes are clear in bravo sector, over."

"See station?" the McChord base controller said. "I don't know what to tell ya, you've got yourself some phantom dots."

The main controller called another main station. "Uh," he sighed loudly as he zoomed out over the entire continent on his radar screen. "Delta wing, we're reporting an ACS fault here, can you confirm anything in your sector?" There was silence for a few seconds. Too long of a silence. The controller repeated with more inflection.

"Dover Air Force Base, do you copy? Do you have anything on your scope?"

Again, another painfully long silence. The controller zoomed in on the New England strip, but saw nothing on the radar. Right as the controller was about to resend his message, a loud, muffled, static filled message silenced the room, and the sudden burst of red that filled the sector dropped the controller's heart into his stomach.

_"__They're everywhere!"_


	9. Language Barrier

**A/N: Good lord you guys are awesome! 5 or 6 reviews on the last chapter? Wow, thank you guys so much! I'm also happy that some of you guys got the reference at the end of the last chapter. You know who you are, and what it was... I remembered that when writing that part and figured it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. ;)**

**Also, don't know if you guys knew or not, but I got another new story up on my account. Plot wise, it is absolutely nothing like this, but I have a feeling you guys will enjoy that one just as much. It's called Subzero if you guys want to check it out (which I encourage doing so). And, just like this story, I want as much feedback as you can give me! Thanks in advance!**

**Last point: all you sadistic, bloodthirsty viewers that are reading this, eat your heart out. And RottenLee Ravenous, if you're reading this, if you have someone shoot me, you won't get longer and better chapters such as this. You're welcome. ;P**

**Anyway, sorry about the longer-than-usual AN, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>10 miles outside Boston, Massachusetts<strong>

"All huskies, report," Sheila said sternly, checking and flicking at her own Arwing instruments. One by one, radio transmissions from each of her squadron members resounded in her ears.

"This is Staff Sargent Kassian, Husky 4 ready."

"Husky 7, clear to engage."

"Husky 6, all systems go."

"This is Richardson, Husky 3 is all clear."

"Garrison here, Husky 8 good to go."

"Husky 5, ready."

"Sargent Major Alex Sharp, Husky 2 optimized, ready for first maneuvers."

"Attack formation V-4, follow me," Sheila commanded, then tilted her Arwing downwards, followed by her seven other squadron members. They aligned in a V pattern, with Sheila up front and Huskies 2, 3, 5, and 8 on the left, and 4, 6, and 7 on the right. Sheila saw the skyline quickly becoming larger in her view, and radioed in once again.

"Alright boys, you know the drill. Swift and strong. No fancy shit. In and out, clean."

Sharp threw his voice in; his loud, authoritative voice echoing in the headsets. "Stay in formation; three repeated strikes one after another. Don't give them any room to fight back."

Sheila slowly throttled forward, picking up speed as the Boston skyline quickly became visible for each member. A deep, unknown voice came in on Sheila's transmissions line, startling her.

"Aircraft, identify yourself," the unknown caller barked in a harsh tone.

Sheila smirked and radioed her wingmen. "Anyone catch that? I don't speak asshole," she said sarcastically, causing the seven other huskies to erupt in laughter at the Major's comment. Sheila herself giggled a bit but then asked another question. "Kass, you got the translator, right?"

"Yeah," Kassian responded. "Human asked to identify… well, _commanded_ to identify."

"Harsh... Okay, put the translator on my end for a sec." A beep on her line signified that the instrument had been transferred. She responded to the caller in a firm, but calm voice.

"ATC, this is Husky Squadron, requesting permission to engage, over."

"Heh, I thought you said no messing around, Spitz," Sharp chuckled, adjusting his laser output.

The controller responded with a skeptical tone translated by the Cornerian gear. "Husky Squadron? Quit messing around aircraft, identify yourself or we will use force."

"Well, that wouldn't be the first time you used force on something you didn't know," Sheila retorted. A chorus of "ooo's" resounded from the huskies, chuckling periodically at Sheila's response.

Sheila didn't even let the controller respond as she was already back on the verbal assault. "Now, I will identify myself again. I am Major Sheila Spitz, the lead Husky Squadron pilot of the Cornerian Defense Force. Your kind launched an attack on our planet, and my squadron and I have been instructed to teach you humans a lesson," Sheila said sternly, then added the seven huskies to the call. She spoke to them directly, still with the human in the call and with the translator disabled.

"Huoy, dineu'ci na suos! _Ad'yeaht!_"

Sharp and Garrison chuckled as they warmed up their twin laser cannons and waited for a target to come into range. Sheila knifed downward, gliding fifteen feet below the rest of the squadron. She let out a deep breath, and hit the red button on her analog steering. A small red dot shot out from her Arwing, and lanced toward a large building right up against the coastline. As soon as it hit, it detonated in a large, pale blue explosion, essentially vaporizing the large skyscraper instantly. The shock wave that emanated from the building shook the ground harshly, and started a massive orange blaze within a quarter-mile radius. The remaining huskies took the hint that they were not supposed to mess around, and replied with their own fire.

After the first flyover, well, they could've stopped right there. There were only a few large buildings standing, and the ones that were had large gouges taken out of them, with ink black smoke pouring out of the structures. The ground was engulfed in flames, and the sound of anguished screams plagued the quickly crumbling city.

The smoke that poured out of the city started to put a dark, eerie smog around everything around it. It was almost as if Boston was an active volcano, and it finally had its major eruption where the entire side of the volcano itself gets blown off. Like Mt. St. Helens, only on the eastern seaboard, and with the city of Boston as the active, exploding volcano.

There was nothing the city could do. Just as soon as the people saw the fighter squadron entering the city, the city itself practically became nonexistent just as fast. And the fact that the city was succumbing so quickly to a small squadron of eight gave Sheila a weird feeling in the back of her head.

"Just what I thought," Sheila mumbled. "No competition. Not even a little bit of defense. You would think that if they launched a missile like they did, they would try to protect themselves more…"

"Just give them a few minutes, Spitzie," Kassian responded, launching another highly volatile bomb at a large office complex, engulfing it in the pale blue glow of the CDF explosives. "Once they find out that we're here, they'll start trying to defend themselves. Don't let your guard down."

Almost as if on cue, Richardson noticed five large aircrafts quickly advancing on their location. The aircrafts were strange to him; there were two large circular protrusions near the back of the aircraft, with what looked to be extra sets of small wings behind them. As mentioned before, they were very large, and were a dirty, sandy looking silver color, with strange markings on the hull of the aircraft. The main wings shot out many feet from the actual body of the plane, and there were rockets on the underside of the wings. As the aircrafts closed in on the huskies, a loud, reverberating sound deafened the pilots.

_BRRRRRRRRRRRRRT_

"What the fuck is that?" Garrison shouted over the loud machine gun fire. He rolled downward in an attempt to shake the metal aircraft, but the death-machine was quickly back on his six.

"Huskies 5 and 7, break formation! Take those enemies down!" Sheila barked, then noticed that one of those metal death bringers was right behind her, and heard the faint sound of a rotary gun whirring as it closed in.

"I gotcha Spitzie," Kassian announced before firing a blue laser right into the cockpit of the aircraft. The whirring stopped instantly, and the large aircraft dipped downward and smashed into the ground, erupting in a giant fireball. Sheila sighed in relief and thanked her savior.

"Thanks Kass. Stick with me; we'll take out that last ones."

Kassian acknowledged by gliding up right beside her. They wound what was left of a large building and came within viewpoint of one of those earth aircrafts exploding at the hands of Husky 6.

"Good shit, Gally," Sharp praised as he flew up right behind the Arwing.

"Guys, I'm in trouble," Richardson announced as Sheila noticed that the last aircraft was right on his tail. The god-awful rotary gun blared loudly as Richardson's Arwing endured a barrage of machine gun fire. What disheartened the female husky was that the Arwing's shielding did not activate against the storm of metal bullets swarming his aircraft.

"Husky 3, pitch left, I'll finish him," the fifth Arwing's feminine voice announced, commencing her blue laser fire on the metal aircraft. One of her lasers hit the cylindrical protrusion, and the aircraft instantly erupted into flames and smashed into a small building, completely shrouding the structure in a bright orange blaze.

"Looks like that was the last one," Sheila announced. "Form back up. 14, O-92. Waste 'em!"

The huskies quickly formed up in another arrow pattern, then as soon as they had a good angle the commenced fire again. Nothing was spared as hundreds of blue lasers ripped into anything they touched. It was a complete and total massacre as there was nothing the people on the ground could do. They could only sit, hope, and _pray_ that they would make it to live another day.

Sheila chuckled as one of Sharp's bombs hit the ground in the middle of a large business district, and as fast as they saw the explosion, it was even quicker watching the charred remnants of the buildings fall to the ground. Even though they were in the air, they could still feel the ground shake when the hundred foot tall buildings toppled onto one another one by one. It was a game of who could knock down the most dominoes, and the only winners of the game were the husky pilots. They had the undisputed, uncontested title of their new game.

Sheila looked around and saw the remnants of their first target, then quickly radioed her wingmen. "Alright, we've done enough here. How you guys holding up?"

"Sharp here, all good."

"This is Gallagher, Husky 6 is alright."

"Husky 4, undamaged."

"Husky 8 took a few shots, but still going strong."

"This is Richardson, I'm a little beat up but I'm good."

"Husky 5, all clear."

"MacKinnon here, Husky 7 is perfect."

Sheila smiled and radioed back to Pepper's flagship. "All clear general. First target compromised; awaiting further instructions."

Pepper's voice radioed back a few seconds later, obviously relieved and pleased. "Perfect! Good job Major. You can proceed to the next point whenever you're ready."

"Affirmative," she switched back to her squadron call. "You heard the general, let's move!"

* * *

><p><span><strong>15 miles outside Chicago, Illinois<strong>

"That the last box?" Nathan asked the feminine body as she effortlessly lifted a large box into the bed of his pickup truck. She grunted as the truck dipped slightly at the weight of the box.

"Yeah, that's the last one," she responded, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Thank you so much Nate. I… I can't say how thankful I am."

"Heh, anytime Taylor," Nathan responded, gently hugging the smaller body. Taylor was about three inches smaller than Nathan's six foot frame. Her light brown eyes and hair were almost the exact same shade as each other, with her hair being only a little darker. Speaking of her hair, it was neatly braided into a long ponytail, and stretched beyond her shoulder blades. She was a relatively smaller woman, and although she was small, she didn't lack attractiveness in any way, shape, or form. She was beautiful on the outside, with a military background on the inside. She fought alongside of the bearded male next to her for many years, and the two seemed to have perfect chemistry with each other.

"You need help loading up the plane?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, actually yes," she replied, closing the door to the back. Taylor slipped into the driver's seat while Nathan rode shotgun. They pulled out of a dirt driveway and onto a small rural country road.

It was an unusually warm day for Chicago. Usually the city didn't exceed sixty degrees in the middle of October, but today was an exception sitting at a comfortable sixty-eight. Not only that, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the wind was only a slight breeze. Nathan stuck his muscular arm out of the black pickup truck's window as he turned to face the driver.

"I never asked, what was this new job you got all the way in Tacoma?"

Taylor smirked and glanced at the passenger. "Ok, You're not gonna believe this, but I got accepted for a full time job at McChord Air Force Base!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Nathan chuckled, nudging the driver's arm. "They accepted you out of what, fifty others?"

"Fifty-two."

"Whatever. You lucky as hell girl. Don't let it go to waste."

"Oh, believe me, I won't," she giggled, turning onto a larger road.

"Promise me you'll keep in contact with me even when you're that far away?" Nathan asked with faint puppy-dog-eyes.

"Ay, not a prob, Foxie," Taylor assured, putting her arm around the passenger. "We've been friends since middle school, lived with each other in college, and even fought for years in the army together. You think I'll just leave you in the dark after I move?"

"You do make a point," Nathan smiled. "Just don't forget about me, m'kay?"

"I won't pull a Justin. Don't worry."

"Did'ja hear that Justin is working for NASA now? Kennedy Space Center?"

"Doesn't surprise me at all. He always was a big space nerd."

"Hey, so am I," Nathan responded, trying to sound hurt as he pushed her arm off of his shoulder. "I still got the job with Rockford's observation wing."

"Find anything?" she taunted condescendingly. "What, a rock? Oooo big deal eh? Ha ha ha!"

Nathan cleared his throat and gave a friendly glare to the driver. "As a matter of fact I did. Found an unidentified satellite in orbit two days ago."

Taylor forced in a pity laugh. "Congrats, you found an NSA surveillance satellite. Whoopee."

"No, it couldn't have been. It was weird. It didn't have any solar panels, and it was super long and sleek; like a floating oil pipe."

"Hmm," she hummed curiously. "Never heard of anything like that before."

"Same here. Hopefully it's not anything Russian or whatever."

"Don't even get me started," Taylor giggled, shaking her head faintly. A few silent seconds passed on the highway as Taylor was driving full speed towards the airport. Nathan suddenly heard a faint jet engine boom, and turned to face the foggy Chicago skyline.

"You heard that too?" Taylor asked, switching to the outermost lane.

"Yeah, F-16 sonic boom. I see 'em coming now."

Nathan was right. Four sleek, silver jets zoomed overhead and raced away from the skyline. About a mile out, the jets quickly reversed course and began racing back towards the large city. Nathan's awe quickly turned to curiosity as the planes came closer. The strange shape of the aircrafts perplexed him, as they had an almost distinct 'A' shape. No U.S. plane had that kind of construction that he knew of.

"Those thunderbirds?" the brown haired woman asked.

"I don't think so. I don't even think they're 16's. They almost look like Hornets."

"Hornets are Navy planes though. What're they doing on land?"

Nathan watched as the unknown aircrafts quickly formed a V pattern and swooped low to the ground. They suddenly saw the aircrafts start launching blue laser-like projectiles at the ground below, each one detonating in a small explosion. Oncoming cars were obliterated, gouges were taken from the highway, and craters appeared in the ground as hundreds of lasers flowed out of the aircrafts. The sudden sound of the countless detonations at one time was deafening.

"Tay, watch it!"

The driver was already way ahead as she floored the brake petal and deviated off of the road and onto the shoulder. As the truck skidded to a stop, the two passengers jumped out and fled from the oncoming assault, just as a stray laser detonated the road mere feet from where the truck had stopped, flipping the truck onto its side.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Taylor shouted over the loud jet engines shooting overhead. Her reflexes were tested as a deafening boom was heard in the background, and she crouched low to the ground as if she was ducking under a dodgeball.

"We're getting attacked!" Nathan shouted, gazing out at the aircrafts quickly advancing on Chicago. Faint rumbles were heard, then a pale blue spherical orb emanated from a building and ink black smoke instantly started pouring out.

He also saw a massive cruiser slowly descending on the city. It was easily the size of a football field, and could potentially block out the sun for miles. Nathan recognized the objects being flung from the cruiser, and realized that the city was about to be swarmed on foot as well as in the air.

"Tay, you up for some action?"

Taylor giggled with a sly grin. "I've been waiting for combat ever since the wars ended…"

"Good. I got a gun in my glove box… Go find one of those abandoned cars and start it up. We need to see if we can help anyone trapped downtown."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Downtown Chicago, Illinois<strong>

"Alright, four flyovers should do it, let's get on the ground." James commanded, dipping his Arwing down in a large clearing near a massive lake. As soon as the plane hit the ground, James was out and rushing towards a large building, and Wes, who had taken Wolf's position, quickly followed. Peppy and Riley stayed in the sky, as they were not known for ground combat.

James and Wes stood their backs up against a large building with their large automatic rifles, while the vulpine stuck his muzzle around the corner. James growled as he saw some furless soldiers in heavy equipment scouring the area for signs of resistance. They also looked to be aiding any remaining civilians, which surprised him because they had obliterated anything they saw while in the sky.

"Four on the left, five on the right. I'll take right," James said quietly, and slipped around the corner and hid behind what looked like a black sedan. The transportation that the humans used were very underdeveloped in comparison to Corneria; they were large, and looked very unsafe and flimsy. He disregarded that fact, and slid his 3x gray tinted scope over a human that was not moving. He was just staring, moving his head around like a security camera. James quietly pulled the trigger, and the human instantly fell to the ground.

"Oh shit, got a man down!" a soldier yelled, dropping down to the felled body. James grunted and hacked repulsively as he overheard the human.

"Dennis was right, that is nasty," James muttered silently, then trained his scope on another soldier. One quick squeeze and the soldier was no more.

"Ambush!" another soldier yelped, raising his weapon. Wes took the opportunity and shot a few blue rounds at the group.

James barked to get the humans' attention, then dropped one after the other with one precise shot after the other. It was strangely calming to him, watching as his enemies fell to the cold ground one by one, even two at a time at his paws. It soothed him, physically and mentally.

"Got 'em all, let's get closer!" Wes commanded, darting out from behind the building and quickly rushed down the crippled, destroyed street. The city was quiet, even with the constant blare of air-raid sirens and distant gunfire. If it weren't for those, the city would be dead quiet. _Dead_ quiet.

James turned around a corner and blew two unsuspecting soldiers heads right off of their shoulders. Another group of five about 200 meters down the street heard the commotion and returned fire. Right as the vulpine ducked in an alleyway, he felt something strange hit his stomach. He looked down and saw something metal protruding from his vest. He snickered as he pulled the bullet from his gear, not penetrating more than a quarter inch into the material.

"Atta boy Vinny," James chuckled silently, then popped his head around the corner to see the soldiers slowly advancing on him. He instantly ducked back in as he heard voices, and the voices progressively got louder as they slowly approached his position.

"Did you see where he went?" a first voice asked.

"Somewhere down here… I hit him, I saw it hit him," a second replied.

"Did you see what it looked like? It wasn't human," came a third one.

"Yeah! I think I saw a tail when he slipped around the corner," the first voice agreed.

_150 meters._

"A tail? What, are we fighting animals now?" the second one asked skeptically.

"No, it was a– it wasn't human, but it sure as hell looked like one," the third replied.

"It had a fucking tail, Johnson. It's not human."

_100 meters._

"What's it got besides the tail? Ears? Paws?" a fourth soldier asked mockingly.

"Don't mock me. I know what I saw," the third one said sternly.

"I saw it too," the fifth voice piped up. "Looked like one of those _things_ you'd see at those weird ass conventions."

"Ha, a furry? You can't be serious," the first one said with a chuckle.

_50 meters. Just a few more–_

"If we're fighting furries, we've slumped to an all-time low," the second one admitted.

"Did you see what they did to the city?" the first voice questioned. "We've got a big time enemy right now, and we can't take them for gra–"

James popped out and fired, hitting three of them right in the skull, and two in their chest and legs, dropping every single one to the ground. The one who was still alive groaned out in pain as he felt the intense heat of the laser fire cauterize his wounds. He looked up and saw a futuristic rifle between his eyes, and a strange looking shadow holding the rifle.

"What the fuck are you?" the human grunted, clutching at his chest wound.

"Yuun jus'ca twoif," James growled, wrapping his paw around the soldier's shirt line, and thrusting him against the brick wall. The human wheezed loudly and glared at the figure, but his glare turned to shock and pure terror as he realized what he was looking at. It was a fox; a large, anthropomorphized orange-brown fox, with pale green eyes and a cream colored muzzle and eyebrows. The soldier wasn't good at reading emotions, but he could tell the fox was pissed. The fox growled as any normal fox would do, and revealed a combat knife from his flight suit pocket. He gasped and his eyes dilated as the sun reflected off of the blade.

"Wha– no, p-please, don't–"

The human's lifeless corpse hit the ground with an audible thud. He sheathed the knife and walked over to the wolf hybrid, who had just put a laser between a marksman's eyes at 300 meters away.

"More troops are coming in later," Wes announced, putting his back up against a building. He pointed down the street towards multiple crippled buildings. "There's a clearing. We can flag them down from there."

"Alright," James nodded, nudging the hybrid with the stock of his rifle. "You hear anything from Husky?" he asked, walking down the deserted street calmly.

"They just finished off New York. Just like Boston, they had virtually no interference other than a few squadrons of small fighter jets."

"The same ones from Boston?"

"No, they were smaller. Christina intercepted communications saying they were F-22's, whatever the hell those are," Wes chuckled, adjusting the stock of his rifle. "Heh, Mackinnon took out four of those smaller planes all by himself. Didn't stand a chance."

James laughed and glanced up at the sky. "There! Get the flare out."

**#####**

Taylor drove a stolen silver car around a corner and into what was left of a parking garage. Both veterans left the car and silently crawled around the vacant, decimated city looking for a trace of life. The sight was terrible; there were blazes burning in almost every single building, and there were numerous stains of red on the sidewalk. At least the enemy cleaned up after itself somewhat.

"Tay, is that– mmhmfh."

"Shhh," Taylor hissed, putting her forearm in Nathan's face; pushing him up against a building. "Arctic camo vests. That's not us."

Nathan eyeballed around the street and saw what she was hissing about. One soldier, heavily equipped with a light gray overcoat and helmet, with a futuristic rifle in his gloves was slowly walking down the sidewalk. The soldier was about his height, and looked fairly slim, even with the heavy equipment and–

"What the hell is sticking out of his pants?" Nathan questioned quietly, noticing the limp, gray, fuzzy protrusion jutting out from just below his waistline and ending just above his ankles. It waved back and forth as the soldier slowly trotted down the street.

"Is… that a tail?" Taylor scoffed confusedly. "Why does it have a tail?"

Nathan nudged her and ducked into an alleyway a few feet down the street. Luckily, the tailed soldier didn't notice the duo. Once they were out of sight, Nathan gapped at the closer view of the soldier. It wasn't a human, and along with the tail, it had two white ears sticking out of slits in his helmet, and a long facial protrusion just under the tinted visor with some pearly white teeth visible as it yawned quite audibly.

"Holy hell," she whispered. "Is that a dog? An anthro'd dog?"

"Shhh, he can probably hear us," Nathan whispered back, lifting his recently suppressed 1911 handgun at the soldier. A quick glance in both directions yielded no opposition, so he took his perfect opportunity and fired, nailing the canine right below the helmet line. It made no sound as he fell to the ground.

"Grab him and bring him back here," Taylor suggested, nudging him in the back.

"Alright, watch my back."

Nathan popped out of his safe haven, rushed across the double lane avenue, and crouched low to the anthro soldier. He smirked as he noticed the bullet entered cleanly in the canine's temple. Nathan pulled off the soldier's vest, swiftly donned it around his own torso, and lifted the canine onto his shoulders.

"Fuck you're heavy," he grumbled, adjusting the awkward framed soldier on his back. The female saw him struggling with the canine and kicked a side door in to a small building. Nathan grunted as he slipped in the doorway and threw the corpse on the floor. He sighed and stretched his back out, watching the other person lower herself to the soldier.

"How come you get the vest?" she complained as she searched the anthro corpse.

"I killed him, I get the prize. You take the bucket."

Taylor hesitantly pulled the helmet off of the canine's head, but groaned and tossed it aside. "Dude, it's got holes on the top for his ears. Not gonna help me any."

"Fine, take his gun. That doesn't have any holes in it," Nathan retorted sarcastically like a teenager.

Taylor pulled a small handgun like object from the soldier's pants, and examined it curiously. It was sleek black with patches that glowed in various bright colors around it. She looked below the handle, and noticed there was no ammo cartridge, but a battery meter that was at 78%. She shrugged and stuffed the alien weapon into her pocket, then resumed searching the canine.

"Animal abuse," Taylor chuckled sarcastically, clutching the canine's muzzle and shaking it. Nathan laughed and kicked at the unmoving tail.

"You're the one that loves animals."

"I know," Taylor responded sadly, caressing the anthro soldier's ears. "Poor fella… Wonder if he was–"

She was cut off as Nathan hissed and practically threw the other human against the wall. Neither of them moved as they heard faint, muffled voices from outside.

"Kun'gusé?" a weird tongue said in a questioning tone. Another voice quickly answered.

"Tohn a na nuis'le jui."

"That's the weirdest language I've ever heard," Nathan whispered.

Taylor looked out the window and saw a swarm around where Nathan had shot the first soldier. Their tails were flicking wildly as they spoke to each other in their alien language.

"I think they're on to us… let's get out of here."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Washington, D.C.<strong>

"Where?" The President of the United States asked impatiently, sitting at his desk in the underground safe haven underneath the white house.

"He's on his way down, sir," a black suited security guard responded, looking at his watch.

"I need him down here now! Philadelphia just got obliterated and he's taking his sweet ass time? Why?"

"Sir, I don't have any clue why," the agent said humbly. "He said he would be here soon."

The president grumbled and sat back in his chair. President Derrick Wilson was only in his first term as a president of the most powerful nation in the world, and he was already dealing with problems within his own nation. Forty-five minutes ago, he had received his first notification that the nation was under attack. A small squadron of eight unknown, sleek and silver fighter jets swiftly swarmed the city without the slightest bit of warning. Then only fifteen minutes after that attack ended, that same group was at New York, along with countless other aircrafts and a large warship. Within minutes, that same city was compromised.

To make matters worse, the unknown assailants had managed to hack into their satellites, and completely disabled any and all radio transmissions and radar imagery. After New York had succumbed to the fighters, the entire nation went dark, and nobody was able to communicate with anyone.

A sudden, hard knock was heard at the vault door, making the gray haired president almost fall out of his chair.

"That must be him," the guard stated, and turned around to open the heavy door. Once the door was open, the agent fell to the floor with a loud thud. A lightly equipped soldier holding a sleek handgun became visible to the shocked president as the lifeless agent fell to the ground. A slight giggle escaped the soldier as it walked into the office and sat on the president's desk, still not releasing the grip on the weapon. The soldier punched in a few buttons on its wrist device, and spoke softly to the petrified president.

"How you doing?" a feminine voice asked, making Wilson's heart skip a beat.

The president could only stare with a blank stare. Mostly because of fear, but somewhat out of curiosity as well. The first thing he noticed about the soldier was that _she_ had a tail. A long, sandy brown and white tail. The second thing he noticed was a white protruding muzzle sticking out under her helmet. He had never seen anything like it before. It looked as though a human and a Siberian husky mixed together and produced this anthropomorphic alien creature. Even if she was alien, she still looked pretty adorable with the faint smile she had. He easily could have reached out and pet her if she wouldn't have had the weapon in her paw.

The female soldier slowly took off her flight helmet, revealing an explosion of light brown hair, along with two pointy canine ears of similar color. She tilted her head backwards and shook, and it seemed as though her hair multiplied in volume exponentially with that one movement.

"You must be the leader of this country, correct?" she asked, surprisingly politely, making the middle aged man shift awkwardly. She noticed the man's discomfort and giggled, stowing her handgun in her pants.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt ya," she assured, then outstretched her white, furry paw. "Name's Sheila."

The paw was weird to Wilson. It looked like a human hand; strikingly similar to a human hand, but it had pads on its tips and palm like a regular dog's paw, along with it being covered in a coat of white fur. He hesitantly reached out his own hand and gingerly grasped the husky's paw.

"See? Nothing to be worried about," Sheila smiled, tightening her grasp on the human's hand. The president let out a faint, sheepish chuckle as he felt the strange warmth of the paw in his own hand. Again, she tightened her grip even more, and the feeling suddenly became noticeable and uncomfortable for him.

"Now… Let's talk," she said sternly, not releasing her grip. "Do you know who we are?"

President Wilson saw a glint casted off of the husky's shirt. He squinted and noticed the words 'Major Sheila Spitz – Husky 1' on a small metal pendant. He instantly felt chills and all the color leave his face._ It's the group that attacked Boston._

Sheila felt his sudden discomfort and giggled. "Now you do… And I assume you know why we're here?"

"If you're gonna kill me then do it!" he suddenly spat, jerking his hand from the female's paw. As he staggered backwards, a red dot became noticeable on his white dress shirt. He glanced over Sheila's shoulder and saw another dog-like creature standing in the doorway. He was much taller and had significantly less hair, but his pure white and jet black fur contrasted so much with itself that it was intimidating nonetheless. He had the faint trace of a dark black mullet sticking out of his helmet, and his dark eyes shot into the president, making him start feeling sweat on his forehead. Sheila's ear twitched as she heard the other husky's weapon prime.

"Sharp, wait," Sheila pleaded, bolting over and grabbing the barrel of the darker canine's carbine. She used her free hand to flick a switch on her wrist device, and spoke to Sharp so that the human wouldn't understand.

"Ue'n shen luit?" Sharp asked, poking his carbine in the direction of the petrified president.

Sheila shook her head and pointed at the door. "Al shué lu kuus. Ru'ne."

Sharp nodded and stood in the doorway; his back turned on the copper husky. His long, dark tail wagged faintly as he stood in the doorway like a bouncer. Sheila fiddled with her wrist again and suddenly spoke plain English to the human.

"Sorry about that. Anyway," she smirked as she noticed the confused look on the human's face. "I personally won't kill you; it's that guy over there you have to worry about."

"I'm right here!" Sharp whined, not turning around. Sheila giggled and sat back on the large oak desk.

"Anyway, no. We aren't killing you. Just sending a message," she stated with the faint trace of a scowl.

"What for?" President Wilson asked impatiently, making glances around the room for something to protect himself with.

"Don't act like you don't know what you did!" Sheila snapped, shooting up from her sitting position. "You made the decision, did you not?"

"What decision?"

Sheila groaned and inched closer to the petrified human, cocking her head. "_Your_ missile? The one that destroyed our city? The one that murdered millions of _our_ innocent civilians?" she repeatedly questioned, each question becoming more hostile than the last.

"I'm sorry… Sheila… I don't have the slightest clue on what you're talking about," Wilson tried to explain calmly, but a loud growl silenced him.

"Are you seriously trying to play dumb? Do you know who you're dealing with?" Sheila asked angrily, hovering her paw around the handgun holstered at her leg. President Wilson cringed and inched closer to the bookshelves on the side of the room as he again tried to explain himself.

"I'm not playing dumb, and I have no idea who you aliens are," he shot, disregarding the husky's stare. Sheila grabbed at the weapon but did not un-holster it.

Sheila used her open paw to rub her forehead. "You humans are dumber than you act," she spat, glaring at the president. "Just admit it; you attacked our planet!"

"We didn't attack anyone!" Wilson shot back, expertly reaching behind him without the husky noticing. "I don't even know what planet you come from, or what the hell you're doing on ours!"

"Quit lying!" Sheila snarled, stomping closer to the president.

Wilson felt a cold sensation in his hand, then looked at the husky. "All I know is that you're trespassing on government property, and I have the right to–"

Wilson suddenly pulled his hand forward and swung at her with a small steel pipe. Sheila didn't move quick enough and felt the force of the pipe on the right side of her chest. She doubled over and tried to pull out her weapon, but the gray haired president quickly swung again, chopping the handgun from her paw. She yelped as she felt the sting on her paw, and before she could process her next move Wilson swung again, this time hitting her left arm. Another swing from the heavy pipe right to her spine dropped the husky to the ground.

"Back off, fur-ball!" President Wilson shouted, drawing the attention of the other husky in the doorway. An expert shot from Sharp's carbine flung the weapon right out of the human's hand, and another one ripped through his lower leg, instantly immobilizing him and dropping him to the cement floor. The dark husky slowly walked over, still with his weapon trained on the human, and helped the copper husky to her feet.

"Jun'uza yuf," Sheila snarled, then harshly kicked the wounded president in the gut. He wheezed loudly as she lifted him off the ground and pinned him against the wall. Her muzzle was inches away from his face, and her eyebrows were tilted so far down they were almost vertical. Wilson could feel the enraged breath leave the female husky's nose.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't blow your brains out right now," Sharp growled, priming his weapon again. He moved closer to the human, but stopped and spun around as he heard footsteps behind him.

"Guys!" another husky shouted, panting in the doorway. His dark gray fur and flight suit had spots of blood soaked in all over it, and he was gasping for air with a paw over a large stain of red on his midsection.

"Richie? What happened?" Sharp questioned, looking at his bloodstained flight suit. Sheila cranked her head around to the voices, and her maw opened up at the pitiful sight of the injured husky.

"There's someone fighting back!" Richardson cried. "He already got Gallagher, and he's coming up–"

The husky was instantly cut off as a noise only equivalent to the sound of punching an empty filing cabinet resounded from the hall behind him. The right side of his face suddenly exploded in a burst of red, which caused Sheila to shriek loudly and cover her maw. The poor husky slowly fell to the ground sideways, unbeknownst of what had slain him, with blood oozing out of his recent wound and onto the cement floor. Sharp instantly spun around and grabbed Sheila's arm, then dropped her and the human behind the president's desk.

"Mr. President?" Colonel Trent's harsh voice echoed in the large doorway. He holstered a massive silver handgun, then picked up the recently slain anthro and threw his corpse up against the bookshelf, causing it to collapse in a loud crash.

"What the fuck did you furries do with President Wilson?!" he shouted, bringing his gun out again. He swiftly spun around as he heard something behind him, but that didn't do anything against Sharp's carbine blasting him in the chest. He was flung backwards at the sudden impact of the laser, and laid on the floor gasping and coughing up blood.

"You fucker," Sharp growled, bringing the gun inches from Trent's face. "You have no idea the hell you just put yourself into," he said sternly, then flipped the gun around and knocked the human out cold with the stock of his carbine. He turned to Sheila, who had a tear running down her fur.

She muttered to herself disbelievingly and incomprehensibly, cupping her head in her paws. She revealed her irate blue eyes to the president, who still had a death grip on his leg. The rage seemed to course through her veins and she wanted nothing more than to see her opposition burn in an all-consuming fire. That same fire burned in her pale blue eyes as she turned and stared into Sharp's soul with a look that could curdle blood.

"Kill him," she commanded softly, causing the president to flush.

"Spitz, we need him al–"

"FUCKING KILL HIM!" she snarled, kicking the president in the gut again with more force than before.

"I can't! He's valuable. We can get more information out of him," Sharp tried explaining, but Sheila was in a state of blind rage. She shot up, ripped the carbine out of his paws, pushed him back a few feet with the barrel of the weapon, and then aimed the red crosshairs over the president's head.

"Sheila, don't!"

**_BANG_**


	10. Two Guys Walk Into A Bar

**A/N: I will gladly take a snow day from classes in the middle of the week. Right now, it's way below sub-zero temps, even without the god-awful wind chills and excessive snow. Granted, it's not the New England strip that has what, 6 feet? Probably more? You guys are troopers, lemme tell ya. If you guys on the east coast are reading this right now, stay safe! I don't live over there so I don't get the first-hand experience, but from what I've seen it's downright brutal over there. Again, stay safe you guys!  
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**Anyway, I've kept you guys in suspense for long enough. Enjoy the next chapter, and please, the more feedback the better. I got SO many reviews on the last chapter, and that's what I love to see. I love all the feedback so far, and I'd love to see that positive trend continue. And yes, I've realized I've beaten the shit out of the dead horse, so I'll just stop right now and get on with the story. ;)**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see ya next time!**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Downtown Chicago, Illinois<span>**

"Nate… Nate look," Taylor whispered, pointing at a large warship a few blocks down. The ship was massive, and looked as though it had four large stabilizing wings; two on each side. What looked to be the main bridge was jutting out of the hull and above two large cannons. They inched closer in silence, building by building until they came within two city blocks of the silver warship.

Nathan hissed quietly as he saw dozens of anthro soldiers with ears sticking straight up and tails wagging slightly, swarming the area around the ship. "Tay… We need to get in there."

"Are you insane?" Taylor questioned. "You're just asking for us to get fried."

"No, seriously. We can probably sabotage their ship. Maybe get them out of our asses."

"But, dude, there's so many of those damn furry soldiers everywhere. We can't sneak in with them around cause they'll spot us right away."

Nathan nodded slowly, then gestured for her to follow. They crept around a building and noticed two tails facing towards them. Nathan pointed at the left one, and then nudged Taylor's shoulder, handing her his silenced 1911. Taylor nodded in acknowledgement, and then the duo silently crept up behind the two soldiers.

Nathan shot out and grabbed the canine's neck with one arm, and clamped down on his muzzle with the other. The other soldier recoiled at the sudden sight, but Taylor expertly put a bullet right between his eyes with the silenced handgun, dropping him to the ground before he could signal help. Nathan's target growled and struggled as best as he could, but could not muster enough strength to fight the human. His jerky movements to break free became weaker and less numerous, and pretty soon his movements stopped all together. Nathan's arm held on for a bit longer after the canine had ceased moving, then silently set his head on the cement.

"Good shit…" Nathan chuckled silently, then gestured to the corpses. "Put on their uniforms. That's our best bet of getting aboard that ship."

Taylor started to unzip the soldier's heavy vest, but stopped halfway. "Uh, Nate? News flash; we don't have tails. They'll spot us regardless of the gear."

"Damn, you're right…" Nathan grumbled, then leaned up against the narrow alleyway. He smirked and kicked the unmoving tail, but Taylor cut him off before he could even explain.

"Hell no, I ain't cutting off his tail. That's disgusting and cruel," she whined, almost gagging.

"How else are we gonna disguise ourselves? It's not like it's humans against humans; it's humans against weird anthro furry animal soldiers. We can't really blend in easily."

"Well, hold on," Taylor started, then removed the rest of the soldier's uniform. The clothing was only a few sizes larger, but the good thing was the longer jacket underneath the main vest covered up the hole in the pants. She smiled and gestured to the other canine.

"The big coat underneath covers up the tail hole. We'll be fine."

"We're fine unless we get ears and a damn muzzle, Tay," Nathan retorted.

"Wait, Nate, the jackets have hoods. We can throw them up over our heads to hide what we don't have. As for the muzzle, just rip off part of his undershirt and stuff it under the scarf. It may not be perfect, but it just might work."

"I just hope he doesn't smell like wet dog," Nathan smirked, then dressed himself in the soldier's attire. Just like the other veteran, the uniform was large on him, which allowed the hole in the pants to be concealed. Nathan drew his pocketknife, cut out a large piece of the canine's tank top, and stuck it into the partial mask that was part of the soldier's uniform. Luckily for him, the shirt didn't smell like he thought it did, and the shirt improvised for a muzzle surprisingly well.

"We look ridiculous," Taylor complained, adjusting the shirt under her scarf.

"Yeah, but you look like one of them. Take their guns, and follow me to the ship. Try not to draw attention to yourself."

Right as Nathan popped out of the alleyway, Taylor swiftly grabbed the back of his stolen vest right on the neckline and pulled him back in. Right as he was going to protest, he noticed she was pointing at the corpse's wrist. There was a strange silver watch-like device strapped to his wrist, and it glowed in a faint blue color.

"You almost forgot that. That's important."

"Why?" Nathan asked, removing the small wristlet and strapping it onto his arm.

"It's got a bunch of things on it," she said, scrolling through the holographic options on her own wrist. "It's got codes, receivers, transmission lines, and most importantly a translator."

Nathan nodded and synced his device up, enabling the translator and eventually setting it to 'English' with a bit of difficulty in doing so. "Cornerian?" he recited skeptically. "That's a new one."

Taylor nudged him, then walked out of the alleyway with Nathan quickly pursuing. A few soldiers looked over to them, but immediately looked back to whatever it was they were doing prior. The disguise was working.

"So far so good," Taylor muttered silently, inching closer to the giant frigate. They were within fifty feet of the wide open hangar door when a dark furred soldier stopped them. He looked at the badges on their stolen uniforms, then glanced up at them with a slight smile.

"Taking a break guys?" the soldier asked with a chuckle. Nathan nodded and responded.

"Yeah, legs are killing me," he lied, stretching out his leg behind him. The canine chuckled more and lowered his rifle further.

"I don't blame ya… Damn city is huge. Anyway, go ahead and get some rest boys. We'll need you at one hundred when we move inward."

Nathan nodded again and slipped into the large warship. It was bigger than they expected once they walked in and gazed at the large hangar room. There were six distinct aircraft docking bays, with four of the sleek silver and blue fighters missing. After wandering the sprawling halls of the massive ship without anybody noticing their presence, they found a safe and secure place and pulled the canine's shirt out of their faces.

"I can't believe that worked," Taylor admitted. Nathan chuckled and pulled out his silenced 1911.

"Alright, let's snoop around and see if we can find anything."

Taylor nodded and followed Nathan down a long hallway silently. They crept around, making no sudden movements or overly loud sounds as they kept hearing the faint language of the alien animals reverberate in the seemingly desolate hallways. Every once in a while they would sneakily open a door in the cruiser, but it would always contain the same thing; just a few beds, a desk, and a small closet. Nathan approached another door, but hesitated as he heard sounds coming from the other side.

"Tay, there's someone in here," Nathan whispered, and held his gun upwards. He noticed the door was cracked slightly, and managed to eyeball around the room and look at the contents.

"Okay, one guy. Follow my lead, we can take him," he said, then slowly opened the door. There was a small fox creature that was strumming a sleek black guitar and was oblivious to the two humans slowly entering. He had a light brown, almost orange coat of fur, with a cream colored muzzle and eyebrows, and a short mohawk of the same color. His eyes were lowered on the guitar, but they could still see the pale green pigments in them. He was humming as his claws played one string after another. Nathan shut the door, causing it to click softly, but that was all the noise he needed. The fox's ear twitched, and his head looked up to see whoever entered his room, but his muzzle fell open as he saw the humans and instantly donned the look of pure fear.

The fox looked as if he was about to scream, but Nathan raised the weapon at him, which instantly froze the vulpine in absolute sheer terror.

"Nate, wait!" Taylor pleaded. "It's a kid. Don't kill him."

The fox shifted awkwardly and spoke up, barely breaking a petrified whimper. "Hanu'si ruun?" he asked, scooting backwards until his tail hit the back wall. His eyes were wide open and his ears were tilted towards the humans.

Nathan holstered the gun and struggled with the alien device on his wrist. He heard it click, then cleared his throat and looked at the little fox. Taylor quickly stepped in front of him and started speaking.

"Hey, little fella… Don't freak out, we're–"

"Go away! Don't hurt me!" he whined softly, curling up on his bed and burying his muzzle into his knees. Taylor smiled and held her hands up.

"Shh, it's ok, we're not gonna hurt you…"

The fox lifted his head up and cocked it slightly. "You're… not?"

"Of course not," Nathan smiled. "What's your name, buddy?" he asked, taking a few steps towards the vulpine.

"My… name?" he echoed hesitantly, still immensely terrified of his sudden visitors.

"Yes," Nathan chuckled faintly. "Your name. What do they call you?"

"I- I'm Fox," he stuttered, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Aww, that's adorable," Taylor squealed softly in Nathan's ear. "A fox named Fox? That's just too cute."

Nathan ignored her squealing and turned his head back to the little creature. He sat on his bed, causing Fox to scoot backwards even more.

"Hey, my last name is Fox," Nathan said with a smile. "My name's Nathan Fox."

Fox lifted his head back up and grinned slightly at the human. He was very intrigued at the human that was sitting next to him. His body stature looked like a Cornerian, but the fact that he didn't have a bushy tail, ears, or a muzzle confused him. The only fur that he had was very dark and was only around his mouth, cheeks, and neck. He also had a weird, rounded protrusion just over his mouth, and dull green eyes, much like his own. The other one looked much different; it was a female for one, judging by her voice, stature, and appearance. She had very neatly braided light brown hair, and had no fur on her face whatsoever. Nathan noticed the fox's ears perk up and muscles relax slightly and continued.

"That's my friend Taylor," Nathan said, gesturing to the human behind him. She waved happily in acknowledgement. Fox smiled even more and even waved back at the human slightly. He eventually realized that these humans meant what they had previously stated; they were perfectly harmless.

"Why are you here?" Fox asked suddenly, luckily lacking any trace of hostility.

"Oh, uhh… Just looking around, I guess," Nathan hesitantly responded. He made another long glance at the vulpine, then something suddenly clicked in the back of his mind. The eyes, the fur, the tail; they all looked strikingly familiar.

"Hey, are you _the_ Fox? Fox McCloud?"

Fox eyes shot wide open and nodded. "How… How did you know?" he asked with his muzzle slightly hanging open in awe.

Nathan about exploded from fifty different emotions right then and there. _Holy shit… THE Fox McCloud… I'm sitting next to Fox fuckin' McCloud… Oh my god I can't believe–_

"Seriously, how'd you know?" Fox asked enthusiastically.

"Just a guess?" Nathan lied, shrugging his shoulders. Fox started feeling much more comfortable with the human and backed away from the wall slightly.

"How old are ya, Fox?" Taylor asked politely.

"I'm thirteen."

_Thirteen? Why the hell is he so young? Shouldn't he be in his late–_

Taylor squealed internally again, and was only a step away from breaking down and hugging the small humanized fox. Nathan rolled his eyes at her and continued.

"Anyway, Fox… why are _you_ here?"

Fox sighed slightly and looked away. "My dad said that you guys launched a rocket at us, but my brother thinks it was an accident…" He looked back up at the human longingly. "Do… you know what happened?"

_Brother?_

"A rocket?" Nathan echoed curiously, turning back to Taylor. "Why would we launch a missile at these guys?"

"God, man, I don't know. In all honesty, we wouldn't be that stupid to launch a rocket at another planet." Her eyes switched over to the small vulpine. "I think your brother might be right, Fox. We wouldn't launch a missile at you guys."

"Then… what was it?" Fox asked intently.

"Uh… Nate, you got an answer?"

Nathan shrugged and faced Fox. "What did this 'missile' do, bud?"

Fox's ears tilted down and his voice faltered a bit. "It… It blew up our capital city, and it… it…" his eyes started to water, so Nathan inched closer and wrapped his arm around him. He was surprisingly soft and warm, like a regular fox, just with a human stature. Fox didn't fight, much to the human's surprise; as a matter of fact the vulpine nuzzled closer to Nathan and rested his head on the human's shoulder. Taylor finally broke down and joined in on the hug for a few moments.

"Shh, it's ok," Nathan consoled the kit, petting his hair. "I understand… I'm sorry…"

"Wait," Fox started, wiping away tears. "Why are you sorry? I thought you said you didn't do it."

"Fox, obviously we killed someone you loved by accident. I don't know what we did, or why we did it, but we hurt someone, and we did not mean to do it. Me, personally, I hate seeing someone upset like this," Nathan explained, embracing the little fox tighter. "We'll sort things out, I'm sure."

"How?" Fox asked, sniffling faintly. "If you think you can try to talk to them, you're crazy. Dad is pissed, and so is everyone else except for my brother. They wouldn't listen to you."

"Not unless we made them," Nathan added suddenly, lifting Fox's head off his shoulder. Fox tilted his head and looked at Nathan with an eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean?"

Nathan exhaled quietly, then explained. "We can get them to listen to us, but we'll need your help."

Fox again gave the human a quizzical look. "How?"

"Do you agree with your brother, Fox?" Nathan asked calmly after waiting a few seconds. "With us? This was an accident, right?"

The vulpine momentarily hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Yes… I think so too… But, why me? Why do you need me?"

Nathan glanced over at the door where Taylor was standing, and gave a few gestures with his head and hands. She gave a huge smile and nodded in approval, then Nathan quickly turned back to the fox. "We can end this 'war' quickly, but the only way we can is if you come with us."

"With you?" Fox echoed disbelievingly and skeptically. "How will that help?"

"If we can get your father or someone else to realize that we have you, they will be willing to negotiate to get you back."

"What?! Are you insane?" Fox asked with eyes wide. "I'm not a hostage! I don't–"

"No, Fox, trust me," Nathan assured, patting the vulpine's back. "We won't actually take you hostage, we'll just hold on to you until your military lays off this attack. I'll take care of you, I swear."

Fox continued to stare at the bearded human, but eventually the ends of his muzzle curled upwards. "You're sure that this will work?"

"Absolutely," Nathan smiled. "You won't get hurt, and neither will any of your family or anyone else. It'll just be some simple negotiations. I promise."

"You promise?" Fox repeated.

"Of course," Nathan nodded with a smile. "Why would I lie to my childhood hero?"

"What?"

"Oh, uh, never mind… Let's get you out of here."

* * *

><p><strong><span>General Pepper's Flagship<span>**

Pepper chuckled faintly as he sat back in his chair and watched his giant holographic screen. The screen showed a large area around Husky Squadron's path, with five dots on the map labelled in a green glow. One by one, the red dots that were farther south disappeared for a brief moment, but were instantly replaced with a green dot. Sometimes even two at a time would transition colors right before the bloodhound's eyes.

Speaking of his eyes, after 45 minutes of staring at the screen watching the red dots change to green, his eyes started getting heavy. He needed to stay awake, but the monotonous beeping from the screen was very hypnotic and it became a struggle to stay conscious. Right as the bloodhound was about to slip away, a white paw was set on his shoulder and startled him, instantly jerking him awake.

"You alright sir?" Vince asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Ah, I'm ok… just tired," Pepper chuckled, sitting up in the chair.

Vince laughed distantly and looked at the giant screen. "How's the assault coming?"

"No problems at all," Pepper said proudly. "Our fighters have reported very little resistance, and Husky Squadron landed at the capital a while ago."

Vince looked at the bloodhound's screen, and noticed the red dot with the words 'D.C.' was blinking periodically, but didn't completely change to green like the others had. "How long have they been there?"

"I'd say at most fifteen minutes," Pepper responded, then slowly rose out of his chair. "They have been there a while… maybe I should call them."

"It's the nation's capital, sir," Vince explained. "If they are back in an hour, I'll be amazed."

"Ah, you're right. They probably have guards swarming that place all the time. I'm assuming they didn't know about the preliminary attacks because you disabled their satellites, correct?"

"Of course," he hesitantly responded, grabbing at the back of his neck. _Thank god he doesn't know that I didn't disable them right away. They were more complex than I thought. How was I supposed to know–_

"Good work, Stazac," Pepper praised with a smile. "You can take five for now. I'll call you when I need you."

"Ok, general; take care!" Vince said cheerfully, then walked off of the main bridge.

Vince had a cheesy smile plastered on his maw as he walked down the ship. A bunch of the Cornerian scientists waved, smiled, or even said hi to the arctic fox as he trotted down the long hallways and towards his quarters. As standard issue in the CDF, all living quarters were practically identical. Each room was the same size, and had the same facilities and furniture as all the others. Vince snuck into his quarters, instantly stripped of his white uniform coat, and flopped backwards onto his bed.

_Man, it's hot in here,_ he thought, then sat back up and walked to the small thermostat in the corner of the room above a small bookcase. He punched the down arrow a few times, and within moments could feel the burst of cool air flowing around the room. He also took off his long sleeve shirt and threw on a black, sleeveless shirt from his wardrobe. As he threw the long shirt in the corner of the room, his wrist lit up in a pale blue glow.

"I swear to god Pepper if that's you I'm gonna– James?"

He stared in disbelief at the caller ID, and quickly accepted the call and put his transmitter up to his maw. "Hey James, what's up?"

"Finally, someone answers," James grumbled. "Just callin' to let you know that our first mission was successful. City's completely destroyed. We're heading out in about fifteen."

"Awesome," Vince applauded, sitting back down on his bed. "Any interference?"

"Quite a bit actually," James said somewhat disappointedly. "Dozens of ground soldiers were all over the place. Not terrible though; they weren't well trained."

"That's good to know."

James voice suddenly became much more distant as he started yelling to someone on his end. "Yo, what's in that container? …Supplies? …Yeah, no prob, just make sure to bring it back when you're done, m'kay? We're heading out soon, so don't take too long."

James quickly started talking again in a much louder tone. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, your hybrid vest material saved my life. One of their bullets hit me in the chest, but it didn't even go a quarter inch in."

Vince smiled and threw his open paw in the air in success. "I knew it would work!"

"For me it worked, but we did suffer a few casualties."

"Shit… How many?"

"At least six… We're still looking though, so that number isn't final."

"Well, let's hope that number doesn't go any higher," the white vulpine stated, rubbing his white furred arms.

"We can only hope, Vinny… I'm actually on the Great Fox now, and… ngh, hold on a sec Vince, door's stuck."

**# Great Fox #**

James put his arm down and forced open the door to his quarters with a few faint profanities thrown in as he did so. He exhaled loudly, then picked his arm back up to his maw. "That's better. Remind me when we get back to Corneria that the Great Fox's doors need repairs."

"Why, they jamming up?" Vince asked.

"Sometimes, not all the time though. I swear it's only my door," James grumbled, pawing the door, looking for possible issues.

"You sure it's just yours?"

"Fox's room is right across mine, so I can check his real quick."

James shut his door with a bit more force, then walked across the narrow hall to Fox's quarters. He easily and effortlessly slid the kit's door open, with no problems or broken pieces.

"Yeah, Fox's door opened up right away," James said, then looked around the empty room with an eyebrow raised.

_Empty?_

"Strange… anyone else's?" Vince asked, but James didn't hear. He was busy looking around the small bedroom for the teenage kit.

"You still there James?" Vince called out distantly after the orange vulpine went silent for a few seconds.

"Yeah, I'm here," James said, unfocused on his conversation. "Fox isn't though. Where'd he go?"

"Probably grabbing something to eat," Vince suggested. James did not need to be told twice as he instantly bolted out of the bedroom and towards the Great Fox's mess hall. It occupied most of the Great Fox's third floor, which made it the second largest room in the dreadnaught warship, second only to the engine and electrical room. He got there in record time, and looked at the dozens of Cornerian soldiers on their lunch break. There might have been thirty Cornerians in there, but Fox was not one of them. James walked up to a large gray feline and spoke up.

"Yo, Wallace, you seen Fox anywhere?"

The feline finished his bite of his sandwich and shrugged. "I haven't seen him. If he's not in his quarters, and not here, he might be on the bridge. He was up there a while ago I think."

"Oh, good idea, thanks!" James patted the feline's back, then again turned around and shot out into the hall. As he was swiftly walking to the bridge, he spoke to the arctic fox that was still on his line.

"Nope, not there either. Might be on the bridge."

"Huh," Vince grunted in curiosity, then chuckled faintly. "Probably just curious as always."

"Got that right," James agreed. "Gonna get himself into trouble the way he is sometimes…"

"Don't be too hard on him, buddy," Vince laughed, then his curiosity quickly took hold. "Also, James, why'd you bring him along anyway? Is it because he wanted to?"

"No, _I_ wanted him to."

"Why? Don't you think you're putting him in danger?"

James sighed as he continued down the hall. "I couldn't leave him back on Corneria with no one to take care of him. Usually Vixy or Wolf takes care of him when I get sent on missions."

"And Wolf's with the Huskies and Vixy's… well…" Vince stopped himself as he noticed he was taking the conversation on the wrong road. "I'm sorry James, I didn't mean to bring that up again."

"No, you're alright Vinny," James said, wiping away a tear. "I miss her just as much as the next guy, believe me. I miss her to death to be honest. But, I realized that I can't stick around the past because that jeopardizes the mission right now. As much as it pains me to say it, I gotta put that event behind me. I have to look towards the future."

"For Fox?" Vince suddenly blurted out, taking the words right out of the orange vulpine's muzzle.

"For Fox," James repeated, a slight smile being creased across his muzzle. He finally walked up and unlocked the bridge's main doors, then stepped inside the bright white plated room. Just like Fox's room, it was completely empty. The confusion quickly transitioned to pure fear and paranoia.

"Vince," James said, his breathing intensifying. "I- I can't find him."

"He's not on the bridg–"

"No," James' cracking and rising voice quickly responded. "I don't know where he is. I can't…" His rapidly increasing breaths caused him to falter a bit and fall onto one knee.

"James, calm down, you'll find him. He's gotta be on the ship somewhere."

"No, Vince, he's not," James blurted out, choking back his emotions.

"Hold on a sec," Vince attempted to calm him down. "Maybe he left you a note somewhere in his room. No telling where he went."

James quickly busted out of the bridge and within moments was back at the kit's room. He started tossing small things around, causing quite a bit of noise. The noise attracted a few soldiers from the adjacent rooms, one of them being the large gray feline Wallace.

"Still haven't found him?" he questioned, stepping into the small bedroom. James shook his head and sat on the bed.

"I- I don't know where he is. He's not here; not on the bridge; not in–"

"What's this?" Wallace asked, pulling a piece of paper off of behind the door. He looked at it for a few moments with a confused look, but had it ripped out of his paws by the orange vulpine. He recognized ten distinct numbers on the top, but underneath it looked like a mess of scribbled calculus equations.

"Whose number is that long?" the feline questioned, tilting the paper towards him. James was still preoccupied on the scribbles below it.

"What is this, though?" James poked at the scribbles. "That some kind of code? Computer coding?"

Wallace gingerly stole the note from his paws, then squinted and brought the paper close to his short muzzle. "Computers use letters and numbers too. This is… gah, I don't know what this is."

James stole the paper back and studied it curiously. He raised an eyebrow as the smudge close to the end of the paper looked familiar to him. His heart skipped a beat once he realized where he'd seen it before. He suddenly jerked his arm forward, punched a few buttons on his transmitter, and held the screen at the unknown words. Slowly, the scribbles on the screen began to pixelate and transform into comprehensible letters for the Cornerians.

Wallace snapped his fingers as the translator continued working. "Oh so it's– …oh fuck."

**_Will you listen to us now? –The Humans_**


	11. A Flight of Stairs Too Far

_I can't escape this hell  
>So many times I've tried<br>But I'm still caged inside  
>Somebody get me through this nightmare<br>I can't control myself_

_So what if you can see the darkest side of me  
>No one will ever change this animal I have become<br>Help me believe, it's not the real me  
>Somebody help me tame this animal<em>

_*Animal I Have Become – Three Days Grace*_

* * *

><p><strong><span>Husky Destroyer<span>**

"Ah, there they are," Wolf stated as the Husky's Arwings quickly zoomed up to the Destroyer and slipped into the main hangar. Once the squadron was safely secured, he shot out of the bridge and down to the first level where the main hangar was. Instead of walking into a cheerful scene of the huskies celebrating over their successful attack, he walked into a scene of two huskies trying to hold back another, with many of them yelling, shouting, and attempting to throw paws. One of them had a paw over his nose as he kept his distance on the skirmish. Wolf's maw fell to the cold floor.

"Sheila, calm down!" the dark copper husky Kassian commanded, trying to restrain her, but the cinnamon husky was having none of it.

Sharp growled and pushed Sheila away from himself. "You're the one that didn't follow orders! You should be the one in the body bag!"

"Fuck you!" Sheila snarled, pushing the larger husky back. Garrison came out and grabbed at her arm.

"Sheila, what's gotten into you?" he questioned, trying to hold her back. Sheila ripped her arm free and pushed the pure white husky backwards. She attempted to throw a punch at Sharp, but the light gray husky MacKinnon grabbed her wrist before it could connect.

"Let go of me!" she barked, but he continued to fight with her to contain her rage.

"Sheila!" Wolf shouted, which caused the female husky to jerk her head around and swiftly change her emotions from blind fury to pure sorrow and regret.

"Wolf!" Sheila cried, rushing over to the lupine and dropping down at his feet, putting her face in his chest. She instantly started crying audibly, which made Wolf give a nasty scowl to the other huskies.

"What did you do to her?" he growled, baring his teeth.

"_We_ didn't do a god damn thing," Sharp scoffed. "Ask _that one_ what _she_ did."

"Sheila?" Wolf called out softly in a questioning tone, tilting his head toward her. "What happened?"

Sheila choked back a sob as she reached into her pocket and pulled out two sleek gold pendants. As she did so, she fell all the way down to the floor in grief.

_Specialist Scott Gallagher – Husky 6  
>S-ent First Cl- Patrick Richa- Hus- 3<em>

Richardson's pendant was rendered somewhat incomprehensible as a large stain of red covered the lettering. He crouched down and embraced the light copper husky as he let the badges fall from his paw. He attempted to console her to the best of his abilities, but she suddenly broke up and shouted across the room.

"It was not my fault!" she barked in a cracking voice, her fur being stained by tears. "It was _its_ fault!"

"It was, yes, but not the other one's!" Sharp growled with a disapproving scowl. "You killed the wrong human!"

"I shot the bastard that started this!" Sheila snarled.

"I know! _That's the damn problem, Spitz!_"

"That asshole had it coming!"

"Good lord Sheila!" Sharp growled loudly. "You killed our only option for answers! You murdered our only solution in cold blood!"

"_My ass_ it was the only one," Sheila retorted. "You can find another one of those apes."

"What if we can't? Hmm?" Sharp questioned impatiently. "What if he _was_ the only one that knew?"

"So? Why are you so concerned about finding answers all of a sudden?"

"Well, unlike some people, I don't want to be here!" Sharp shouted. "I've got my fiancée at home and I'm here fighting a war that, in all honesty, can be won without my help! I don't want to risk my life when my family is back at home!"

"A lot of people back home don't have any families anymore, Alex!" she snapped. "We're here to glass this damn planet and avenge our families back home!"

Wolf tried to calm her down again, but she suddenly turned around with an enraged fire in her eyes.

"And you! You thought this was an accident? You thought that it was a fucked up satellite? Are you fuckin' _stupid_?!"

"Sheila?" Wolf called out softly in disbelief at the husky's intense swing of emotions. He had never seen her so livid and emotional before. It was uncharacteristic of her to be so irate and inconsolable.

"Don't _Sheila_ me," she barked sourly, glaring at the lupine's violet eyes. "You can't tell me this was a fuckin' accident now! They just murdered my teammates, and countless numbers of _our_ other soldiers! They are fighting back!"

"Yeah, cause they were defending themselves!" Wolf shot back. "Of course they're gonna start killing us because we're attacking them for no reason!"

"Can you even hear yourself?" Sheila impulsively questioned.

"Can you?" he fired right back. "Do you realize the only reason why they are shooting at us is because we are instigating them? Did you even hear me when I was explaining this to James?"

As soon as he mentioned the vulpine's name, she instantly donned a nasty scowl and lowered her voice as deep as it could go. "Don't you even bring that asshole into this!"

"What?" Wolf half-shouted. "That's my damn father you're degrading, Sheila!"

"After what he did to you I'm amazed you still call him your father!" she spat nastily, stunning the lupine. His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull, his jaw unhinged, and his arms and tail fell limp. He could only stare at her with a blank stare; disbelieving what she had just announced.

"Sheila…" Wolf said pitifully, not breaking a whisper. "How… could you say that?"

"And how could you stand there and tell me… tell _us_… that what they did to us was an accident? You're trying to defend them? You're choosing _their_ lives over _ours_? Even after what they're doing to us now, you're _still_ siding with them?"

Wolf tried to speak up, but he was still fighting his sudden emotional spiral that his vocal chords would not work. Sheila started walking away from him backwards, sniffling as she spoke up again.

"James was right," she started, fighting back a sob. "You really are a heartless son of a bitch."

That was the final nail in the coffin for Wolf. His heart instantly split in two.

Sheila gave him another dirty look, then stormed out of the hangars and towards the living quarters. Wolf dropped his head low, then let a soft whimper escape him as he padded back to the door he had entered in and headed back towards the bridge. He was absolutely devastated. His ears were folded over, his tail was tucked between his legs, and he walked slowly down the hall with slouched shoulders and dragging heels.

_'You're seriously gonna try to defend them while they plot to do the same damn thing again?'_ James' faint, distant voice reverberated in the lupine's mind. He faltered and leaned up against the wall, trying to shake the thoughts.

"They aren't right," he muttered under his breath as he continued walking.

_'Even if it was an accident, as you say, this attack is unforgivable,'_ Pepper's words echoed in his skull, causing Wolf to snarl quietly and violently shake his head.

"They aren't right," he repeated louder and with more emphasis. He tried to stand straight up again and continue walking, but the huge nail came back and bit him hard.

_'You really are a heartless son of a bitch.'_

Wolf faltered down to both knees, then quickly fell all the way down to all fours. As his breathing intensified as he made large gasps for air, his wrist transmitter started vibrating.

Wolf growled at the caller ID. "Screw you James. I ain't listening to your shit about how many innocent people you murdered," he spat, pressing ignore on his wrist. He stood back up after a brief moment, but once again James was back on his wrist.

"I told you McCloud, I don't wanna listen to you." As he once again ignored James' call, he sat back down on the metal floor and cupped his head in his paws.

This whole situation was ruining his life. He wanted nothing more to do with James, and he wondered if he still even had his companion anymore. He had the height of his life set before him, but it all crashed down faster than that failed human satellite.

Why wouldn't they listen? Were they _still_ running on blind rage? Did they not have one ounce of rationality in them at all? Better yet, why was he the only one thinking rational thoughts? It seemed as though he was the only one that didn't have an unquenchable bloodlust, and actually thought about the situation without the first choice being to glass the planet. He had moral and reasonable thoughts that the rest of them lacked. They were all hell bent on revenge, while he still had a sense of rationality.

Both James and Sheila had called him heartless. Yet, he was the only one that had one.

"They aren't right."

As Wolf felt his wrist vibrating again, he looked back at the screen, but once he saw an orange vulpine's face he instantly tore off the transmitter and threw it up against the wall. It smashed up against the light silver wall and fell to the ground in pieces.

"Fuck it," he growled loudly, then picked himself up and stormed back into the hangars. There were only two huskies left in the room, those being Kassian and Garrison. Wolf walked up to the Arwing locking grid, then disengaged one of the fighters and primed it for takeoff.

"Wolf?!" Garrison shouted, running up to him before he could jump into the fighter. "What the hell are you–"

He wasn't able to finish as Wolf quickly dropped the pure white husky with a wild right hook. As his unconscious body fell to the cold floor, Kassian recoiled, then tried his own method to stop the lupine, and this time he had a better chance than the previous husky.

Kassian ducked under Wolf's first swing, and elbowed the lupine in the stomach. As Wolf faltered, he swiftly spun around and took the dark copper husky's legs out from under him. Kassian's body impacted the floor with a loud, echoing thud, giving Wolf the perfect opportunity to leap into the Arwing, and within seconds was shooting out of the hangar and towards the planet.

"Kass! Who was that?" Sharp shouted over the loud boom that resounded from the Arwing. Kassian grunted as the larger husky helped him to his feet, then growled at the streaking fighter jet.

"Wolf just jacked G's Arwing," he said bitterly, then crouched down to the unconscious husky. "Help me get him to the med bay. Wolf fucked him over pretty bad."

Sharp nodded and threw one of Garrison's arms over his shoulder. As the two helped the white husky to the medical rooms, they came across the emotional mess that was the cinnamon copper husky Sheila. She was crying into her arms as she sat on the floor, but once she noticed the unconscious husky she quickly bolted up and checked on him.

"What happened?" she said shakily because of her tears.

"Your boyfriend happened," Sharp said angrily, then disappeared into the infirmary with the husky. Sheila stood in the doorway with her jaw hanging open. She was in complete and total shock at what the lupine did to her teammate.

Wolf had changed. He wasn't the happy, caring person that she had come to know and love anymore. But yet, neither was she. She wasn't the same either. She had changed as well, almost as bad as Wolf had. She didn't feel sorry for him one bit, however she did understand why he was acting the way he had. He had his crazy beliefs, and nobody would back him up on it.

And that was the way it should have been.

Sheila shook her head faintly as her thoughts took full hold. Why was Wolf so set in his opinions? He couldn't be right… could he? No. He was wrong… so, so wrong. The humans had fought back. They just killed two of her squadron members; two of her family members. They were cold-blooded, savage, murdering aliens, and they had just taken it way too many steps too far. They opened the door by launching the missile, and now they are walking through the wide open door by killing whoever got in their way.

And Wolf was trying to defend the humans? After what he had gone through as of yet, he was still sticking up for them? She was definitely missing something. Wolf knew something that she didn't… and she needed to figure it out.

She lifted her transmitter up to her muzzle, but put it back down just as fast. "He won't listen to me," she whispered to herself, walking through the hallway and down to her quarters. "Not after what I just did to him. He's probably livid with me. I… I just…"

Sheila sighed as she rested her copper head up against her door. She felt a cold tear roll down her face again as a terrible thought flashed across her mind. "I just ruined my relationship with him. I…"

She slowly opened the door to her quarters and sat on her bedside, then continued to scold herself by practically screaming at herself. "Wolf… I'm… I'm so sorry… Damn it, I love you to death Wolf! Why did I do it?! Why am I so heartless?!"

As Sheila burst into tears yet again, another sudden realization dawned on her. Her bloodshot and tear-filled eyes shot wide open as her voice barely cracked a whisper.

"Wolf… I… I was wrong… I was so wrong…"

* * *

><p><strong><span>Rockford, Illinois<span>**

"You holding out alright back there bud?" Nathan asked over the roar of the wind in the silver car's window. Taylor was driving a good fifteen miles an hour over the sixty-five speed limit, rushing from the now desolate downtown Chicago and speeding towards Nathan's apartment in suburban Rockford; almost two hours away. That was their only safe haven now with the kidnapped fox in their backseat.

"I'm alright," Fox said with his transmitter up to his muzzle. "I'm trying to call my brother and let him know what's going on."

"Just him?" Nathan quickly questioned. "No one else?"

"Yup," Fox responded, then threw his arm down. "I can't seem to get a hold of him though."

"You sure your transmitters' calls work on our planet?"

"I would think so. Uncle Vince said he would use your satellite grids to broadcast our calls," Fox explained, then grinned once he saw Nathan's confused face. "Just for now of course," he added.

"So that's why our phones didn't get any service, Tay," Nathan said, turning back to the woman driver. "They hacked into us and disabled our towers."

Taylor grunted as she shifted lanes. "They musta thought way ahead for this," she stated.

"Exactly."

Fox growled again and threw his arm down in frustration. "Come on, pick up already."

"Who is your brother anyway, Fox?" Nathan asked, turning around to face the kit.

"Wolf," he answered, not looking up from his wrist.

_Whatinthefuckingfuck?_

"And he isn't fighting at all?" Nathan quickly added, disregarding the inadvertent bomb Fox dropped on him.

"He doesn't want to. He absolutely refused."

Nathan smiled. "If you can get a hold of him, tell him I said thank you."

Fox's ears perked up as he gave the human a friendly grin and continued to fiddle with the machine. He picked out one of the chips, dusted it off, then placed it back in in a heartbeat. After the system finished rebooting, he tried making another call, but still with the same outcome as before. Fox gave up as he let out an annoyed groan and slouched back in his seat.

"Don't worry Fox," Nathan assured. "We'll find him. I'm sure."

"No, Nathan, you don't understand," Fox butted in, jerking his head back up to make eye contact. "If my dad tells Wolf about what happened to me first, then he's gonna have a pretty good reason to fight, and he's one hell of a fighter."

"Ngh, you're right," Nathan grumbled, turning back around. He suddenly had an idea come to mind and turned back to the vulpine.

"I bet I can do some computer stuff to get a hold of him. Just wait till we get back to my place."

"Really?" Fox asked excitedly. "Awesome. How far away?"

Taylor suddenly jerked off of the highway and drove down an off ramp joining up to some city streets. "Just a few more minutes now," she explained, turning down a side street. A few minutes passed in silence as the truck sped down city streets. What bugged her was that they were completely deserted. Not a single soul was on the streets. They must've all left or were hunkering down and hoping that a stray shot wouldn't kill them.

Taylor pulled up to a medium sized apartment complex and parked in the nearest open spot, then as soon as she turned off the car the two human occupants jumped out. Nathan walked over to the five foot tall fox and held out his arms.

"Here, I got ya."

Fox nodded and allowed the human to scoop him up out of the car and carry him like a small child. Fox wrapped his soft, fur covered arm around Nathan's neck as the human shifted the awkward humanized vulpine frame in his arms. He walked up a small set of stairs and up to a door with the numbers '43' drilled into it, then let Taylor unlock the door and allow Nathan step into his decently sized apartment. Luckily, he had some spare time before he had to help Taylor move, so he used it to clean up his apartment somewhat. It wasn't the cleanest place, but the bright side was that there wasn't food littered everywhere. It had an L shaped couch in the corner, facing the other wall that had a large TV propped up against it. The kitchen was practically connected to the main room, only being separated by a granite countertop. Nathan walked the vulpine to the couch and gently set him on it. Fox instantly relaxed as he felt the cool leather on his fur and tail.

"Make yourself at home, Fox," Nathan announced. "I'm gonna go grab my gear from the car and I'll be in in a sec."

Nathan popped out of the door and rushed up to the car. He pulled out his stolen enemy uniforms, along with the stolen rifles, and a backpack with a few supplies he had gathered from the trunk of the vehicle. He trotted back up the stairs with his hands full, and managed to open the door with a bit of difficulty in doing so. He threw the uniforms and rifles on the edge of the couch, put the backpack on the ground beside it, then flopped down on the long couch next to the vulpine.

"You seriously kept the rifles?" Taylor asked with a smirk. "Don't you have your own?"

"Yes… and now I have two more," Nathan said with a grin. Taylor faintly shook her head, then walked up to the TV and turned it on.

"Maybe they've got some news on this," Taylor wished, waiting for the screen to pop up.

"Well, while you're waiting on that," Nathan announced, standing up off the couch and walking to a closet on the other side of the room. He pulled out an old set of crutches, adjusted them to the tod's height, and then handed them to the vulpine. Fox stared at the light metal crutches confusedly.

"What are these?"

"They're crutches," Nathan explained. "You can use them since your leg is broken and all."

"Cool," Fox said, pawing the crutches. Nathan chuckled and gestured at the fox.

"Follow me bud. I'll see what I can do to get your brother."

Fox nodded and limped on the crutches as he followed the human through a short hallway and into a medium sized bedroom. Nathan sat down at the desk, while Fox leaned up against the chair behind him. Nathan then pulled off his stolen wrist transmitter and fiddled with a few of the settings.

"Alright, let's see what I can't do here…" he said out loud.

"Vué?" Fox said in a questioning tone. Nathan cocked a head at him, but realized that his translator must've deactivated accidentally. To avoid that happening again, he gently grabbed the vulpine's wrist, then activated his translator on his device.

"Better?"

"Much."

Nathan chuckled then spun around to the computer screen. "Oh, Fox, can you put your arm down here for a sec?"

Fox obliged by putting his furred arm on the desk. Nathan then poked at the vulpine's transmitter, then was able to pull up a few numbers on his screen. Nathan hesitantly copied those numbers down from Fox's wrist and onto his desktop computer. After fiddling with the new information he was given, he sank back down in the seat.

"Ngh, vienne sur tu morceau de merde," Nathan grumbled to himself.

"Wait, Nathan," Fox piped up, then stole his arm back as he scanned through some information. He smiled as he found what he was looking for. "Put this in," he commanded, throwing his wrist back into Nathan's face. Nathan did the same thing with that information, then an undetailed map suddenly popped up on his screen with a red dot.

"Ahh, tracking," Nathan cooed with a smile. "Nice work Fo– wait... what was that number you put in?"

"It's a code for a chip that the CDF has every pilot wear on them at all times."

"Oh, so for constant surveillance?"

"Yeah," Fox responded, rubbing his orange arms. "I don't have it since I'm not a pilot… yet."

"Ahh, looking into being a pilot, eh?" Nathan smiled. "It's hard work, but it's worth it in the end; believe me."

"My dad wants me to be a pilot," Fox said with his own smile. "He wants me to inherit the family business when I'm old enough."

_And you'll do a damn good job at it, _Nathan thought with a smile.

"But I don't think I'll do it," Fox added, tilting his ears backwards. "I want to do what Uncle Vince does, with all the science and research and stuff. That's really cool."

Nathan smiled and patted the vulpine's shoulder. "You do whatever you want, Fox. My dad wanted me to go into business management like himself, but I always wanted to get involved with the military; which I ended up doing."

"You're in the military?" Fox asked with eyes wide.

"Sure am. Was with the U.S. Special Forces for a few years. You think I was lying when I said I would protect you?" Nathan asked with a grin.

"You do make a point."

Nathan turned back and scanned around the map that popped up on his screen. After a few moments, he suddenly shot up, grabbed his stolen wrist transmitter, and sped over to his closet. He instantly crouched down to the server-like device in the corner and started messing with the machine.

"What are you doing?" Fox asked in awe.

"Hacking into anything nearby," Nathan's muffled voice responded, completely unfocused on his conversation.

"What is that?"

"My special toy," Nathan said proudly. "Built it myself. Can do a bunch of different things."

After a brief minute or two, he slipped back into his office chair and started typing furiously. Three different coded terms popped up, and Nathan pointed to them and turned to Fox.

"Recognize these?"

Fox leaned over and squinted at the screen, then his eyes shot wide open. "Huh. First one is a G-diffuser system, second one is a transmissions line, and the third one is… um…"

"Transmissions lines?" Nathan interrupted. "Just what I hoped!"

"Why? What are you doing with them?"

Nathan smiled and turned the volume up on his monitor. He clicked on the second term, then the sound of distant radio static filled the room.

"Your bro is in an aircraft. I just tapped us into his radio lines. Say something," Nathan commanded, handing him a black headset. Fox struggled with the device because of his floppy vulpine ears, but managed to expertly balance the headset on top of his head. He lowered the mic attachment and spoke.

"Wolf? You there?"

"FOX?!" Wolf shouted, distorting the radio quality. "How the fu… ront door are you in my ship?!"

"I'll explain later. Just… get to where I am quickly," Fox responded swiftly.

"What, the Great Fox? That's where I was headed bud–"

"No, I'm not there. I'm… what? Ninety miles west of that."

"WHY ARE YOU NOT ON THE SHIP?!" Wolf blared in a state of panic.

"Wolf, listen," Fox pleaded "Just get to my coordinates and I'll tell you then. Hurry!"

"Are you in trouble?" Wolf quickly asked.

"Not even close," Fox smiled. "I just need you here. And please; don't tell dad."

"Why don't you want me to tell him?"

"Just trust me," Fox assured. "Get here as quick as you can, and I'll fill you in then."

"Okay, I'll be there soon. See you there runt."

Nathan chuckled as Fox put down the headset. "You sure he won't flip out once he sees you with us?" Nathan asked skeptically. Fox smiled and put a paw on Nathan's shoulder.

"Believe me, he won't lay a paw on you as long as I say so."

"Thank you," Nathan smiled, then jerked his head towards the door. "You hungry Fox?"

Fox smiled a toothy smile and nodded. "Starving."

* * *

><p><strong><span>General Pepper's Flagship<span>**

Pepper smiled at his large holographic screen. His entire sector that he had mapped out for the huskies was completely green. No exceptions.

However, James' group was slow on the up taking. Their one spot they had was still blinking periodically. Granted, that was a very large city, and they had significantly less ground troops than the eastern seaboard had in combat, but still, it was James McCloud. He could've wiped the floor with anything he saw in a million different ways in a heartbeat. It wasn't characteristic of him to stick around longer than he needed to, especially with the enemy they were up against.

Almost as if on cue, the bloodhound's radio transmissions started ringing with the aforementioned vulpine on the caller ID. Pepper smiled and answered the call.

"Hey James, how was your–"

"FOX IS GONE!" James screeched, deafening the bloodhound.

"What?! How?!"

"Those fucking aliens!" James retorted with a faltering voice. "The damn humans snuck aboard and took him! They kidnapped my kit!"

"Have you tried calling him?" Pepper asked on impulse.

Pepper heard the faint, distant sound of a paw coming into contact with forehead through the other line. "I'm so fuckin' stupid. Hold on Pep, I'll call you back."

**# Rockford, Illinois #**

Fox felt his vibrating wrist as he sat back down on the couch in the main room with a plate of freshly prepared food, courtesy of the bearded human still in the kitchen. He made a glance to the screen, then gasped loudly as he noticed it was his father on the other end trying to establish a connection.

"Nate!" Fox shouted, shaking his wrist. "Nate it's him! It's my dad!"

Nathan shot out from the kitchen and rushed up to him. "Don't answer it!"

"No duh I'm not gonna answer it," Fox retorted, setting the plate aside. "It's just… I've never ignored my dad like this. I feel like I'm letting him down."

Nathan sat down and wrapped his arm around him. "It'll be alright. Once your brother gets here we can sort things out. It's our only chance."

Fox nodded slowly and slipped the transmitter off of his wrist. He set it on the couch next to him as it continued to ring. He kept making glances to it, then back to Nathan, almost implying he needed to answer it.

"I know Fox. I understand," Nathan assured, embracing the vulpine gently. Fox relaxed a bit as he laid his muzzle on the human's shoulder. As soon as the transmitter stopped ringing, he let out a whimper and buried himself into the human's warm grasp.

Nathan instantly realized his experiment was tearing the little anthro fox kid's heart in half. He could feel the uncertainty and sadness stemming from the vulpine, but it was what he had to do. If he wanted his own race to survive, he needed to do anything and everything in his power to do so.

Granted, taking the kit wasn't his first option at all. The last thing he wanted to do was try and drag a kid into the skirmish; an alien one at that. He knew in his mind that if he had a kid, and another alien race stole him or her, he'd be pretty livid also. He'd worry nonstop until he sought that his kid was safe. That must've been how Fox's father was feeling. But, it was what he had to do. Fox was his only hope of surviving and ending the ongoing assault by the humanized animal alien race.

All he hoped was that the plan in his head would work.

**# Great Fox #**

"Come on kit, pick up the damn call," James growled, practically smashing the transmitter up against his face. He was startled as a blue feathered wing was suddenly set on his shoulder.

"You alright James?" Riley asked, ruffling his feathers. James turned his head and stared at the avian with bloodshot eyes and a concerned stare, shaking his head in negativity.

"Fox… he's… he's been kidnapped."

"What?" Riley squawked. James instantly hushed him as he smothered the device into his fur. He was silent for a few seconds, then whimpered faintly as his arm fell limply to his side. He sat down on Fox's bed and folded over, beginning to sniffle.

Riley held up his own transmitter to his beak on an impulsive idea. "Wes? We need a search party of five ready in five minutes… Yes, me and James too… I'll tell you why when we get down there…"

James lifted his tear stained face out of his arms as Riley ended his call. He hesitated, but let a small smile escape his maw as he shot up and embraced the avian.

"You're the best," he chuckled faintly, patting Riley's back. Riley staggered backwards a bit but returned the gesture.

"We'll find him James…" Riley assured, tightening his grip on the vulpine. "We'll find him."

**#####**

Riley's sudden search party organization turned out to be the best idea he'd had in a long time. His party consisted of himself, James, Wes, the feline Wallace, and a silver female vulpine by the name of Sarah Bowman.

Sarah was a beautiful, small, young vixen. She had long, bouncy curls running all around her ears, and her stature made her seem like a twenty-one year old; disregarding her actual age of course. She was only sixteen, which was extremely young to be in combat, but with the sudden departure for war, they did not restrict anyone from seeking revenge. At about five foot four and one hundred and ten pounds, she was easily the smallest soldier, but not the least competitive. The vixen was extremely, almost excessively aggressive during training, but off-duty she was always smiling and would essentially drop everything to help a fellow soldier. This was the case in this current moment, as she was the first one to say she wanted to aid in the search and rescue.

James walked into the room with the newly formed rescue party with his maw partially buried in his transmitter, talking to one of the Cornerian scientists. "You said that you can track him? How?"

"I can use the humans' satellites to put a marker down on him. I just need more information," the scientist said with the faint sound of typing in the background of the call.

"Alright, what do you need Arti?" James asked patiently.

"Do you know Fox's transmitter's serial number or authorization code?" the blue jay Arthur asked.

"Um… yeah," James responded, trying to jog his memory. "285-C-0-94," he read off slowly, trying to catch himself if he made a mistake at all.

James heard the scientist typing in the background as he read the letters and numbers off slowly. The blue jay on the other end grunted in approval, then sent a set of coordinates to his transmitter only a few moments later. "That should be exact. Good luck out there!"

"Oh, believe me," James said with a cold growl. "I'm not the one that needs luck."

"True that," Arthur chuckled. "Take care James."

The vulpine put down his wrist, then turned around to the group. He pushed a button on his transmitter, then sent the same coordinates the blue jay had sent to each of the group members.

"There's where he is. We've got clearance to fly in fifteen minutes, and by the looks of it we'll get there in another half."

"What's the plan, Mr. McCloud?" Sarah asked very politely, making James smile slightly.

"Alright, Wes, Sarah, and I will rush in, while Riley and Wallace will secure a perimeter in the air so they don't escape. All good?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, but James wasn't done yet. He sighed as he looked away for a brief moment, then once he focused back, he cracked his knuckles loudly.

"We're getting him back, and we'll make these kidnapping aliens experience the hell they put us through."


	12. Football

**A/N: I'm back again! For those of you wondering how I get updates out every week, I put my strategy on my profile. I did some minor changes to it, but I'm sure you guys can find it. **

**Anyway, before you read, I just wanna say that if there is any chapter up to this point that I want you guys to review more, it's this one. I don't care if you're a guest or not; I want to know what you think of this chapter in particular. Any feedback at all; please let me know. I would really appreciate it. Why?**

**...You'll see... Take care you guys!**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Rockford, Illinois<span>**

Nathan was practically asleep on his couch when a loud jet engine overhead rattled the windows and jerked him out of his impending sleep. He instantly recognized that sound as the same noise as the engines of the jets that attacked Chicago. Nathan tensed up immediately, but Fox shot up off the couch and hopped up to the front window. As he gingerly peeled back the curtains slightly, he gasped and yanked them shut.

"That's not Wolf's Arwing!"

Nathan instantly bolted up, grabbed his ACR that was propped up against the wall near the TV, then held up the weapon to its proper stance as he pointed it at the door.

Fox was able to position himself so he could see the plane without being noticed from the outside. He wasn't wrong; it was not a Star Fox generation Arwing that Wolf or his father used. It was the next step lower, which was what the high ranking Cornerian Army officers used. He scanned the fighter, and noticed a small insignia on the outside of the right G-diffuser. It looked like a small white husky head.

"The Huskies? I thought they were on the east," Fox murmured, continuing to watch for a familiar figure to leave the Arwing, and hoping that it wasn't who he thought it was.

He practically exploded from excitement when he saw a large gray wolf exit the fighter.

"Wolf!" Fox cried, unlocking the door and hobbling out onto the small balcony overlooking the parking lot the lupine had touched down on. Wolf took a second to process his surroundings, but once he realized the teenage kit was standing in the doorway of a human house he pulled out a small sub-machine gun and bolting up the stairs up to the vulpine.

"Fox! Thank god you're alright!" Wolf said, visibly relieved as he embraced the smaller frame tightly, doing his best not to chop Fox's crutches from his paws. "Where are they?" he questioned as he broke his hold on the kit and held his weapon up in the recently shut doorway.

"No, Wolf, stop!" Fox pleaded, pushing the weapon down. "Hold on a second, let me explain!"

"Explain how you were taken hostage?" Wolf shot back, prying the gun from the vulpine's paws.

"That's not what happened," Fox retorted. "Just let me explain, please."

"Alright," Wolf sighed, flopping his arms down. "What?"

Fox cracked the door slightly and stuck the tip of his muzzle through the door. "It's him Nate, don't shoot."

"Nate?" Wolf echoed questioningly with an eyebrow raised.

Fox smiled slightly and nudged the lupine's backside with his crutch, then practically pushed him into the room and quickly shut the door behind their tails. Wolf hesitantly looked around the small room, but once he saw a human figure slowly lowering a medium-sized rifle he instantly raised up his sub-machine gun and pointed it at the person. He didn't fire, but continued to stare into the human's green eyes. Wolf probably could have paralyzed the human in fear if he wasn't an army veteran.

"Wolf, don't!" Fox shouted, chopping at the gun with his crutch. "He's not gonna hurt you!"

Wolf disregarded the vulpine's pleas as he kept his weapon trained on the human. Nathan noticed his death stare and quickly spoke up.

"Woah, buddy, chill," Nathan assured, placing the ACR on the floor and holding up his empty hands. "I'm not gonna shoot."

Wolf made a faint glance to the small fox with an eyebrow raised, still with the weapon pointed at the human. Fox giggled slightly and spoke up.

"Wolf, this is Nathan Fox. He helped me find you."

"He also kidnapped you," Wolf added, making another angry glance to the already intimidated human. "Why should I trust him?"

"Because you're still alive," Nathan responded calmly. "If I wasn't to be trusted, I'd have killed you as soon as you stepped foot in my home."

Wolf made another growl at him, but Nathan inched closer and gingerly outstretched his hand. "I'm not hostile. I only want to help."

Wolf hesitated, but eventually lowered his weapon enough to be able to shake the human's hand. "Name's Wolf O'Donnell. Nathan, right?"

"Yeah," Nathan responded, letting go of the lupine's paw. "You're his brother?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the vulpine.

"Metaphorically, yes," he responded with a grin. "Not exactly blood relation, but might as well be."

_Thank Lord Jesus, _Nathan thought with a faint smirk, then gestured to the couch. "Go ahead and take a seat. We've got some things to discuss."

Wolf obliged by setting his weapon on the coffee table and hopping backwards on the large couch. Fox instantly bolted over and sat next to him, which made Wolf chuckle softly and run his paw through the kit's fur.

_That is so weird. I'm half expecting him to pull out a knife on Fox or something_

"Alright, I'm trusting you here," Wolf announced, crossing his right leg. "Don't make me regret doing it… Talk."

Nathan cleared his throat. "So… First off, I understand your kind is here because of a supposed missile that hit your planet launched by us, correct?"

"Yeah," Wolf responded. "At least… that's what my military is saying. I personally don't agree with them."

"And you'd be correct in thinking that, Wolf," Nathan said with a nod. "I don't run the country, but I know for a fact that our government is not _that_ stupid to attack an intergalactic race such as yourself."

"I fuckin' knew it," Wolf muttered in a low growl, then suddenly picked his voice up. "I told them! I even explained why!"

"How so?"

Wolf slouched a bit as he tilted his ears slightly. "Well, you know that we've been sending satellites into your atmosphere, right?"

"So those _were_ yours?" Nathan said, nodding his head forward a bit.

"Yup… Anyway, I told our general that supposed 'missile' that hit us was just you guys' botched satellite in an attempt to mimic us, but he said it was too coincidental to be an accident."

"Damn, that does makes a lot of sense," Nathan mumbled.

"And now my military is hell bent on revenge and want nothing more than to see your planet crumble, and there's no stopping them once they've got their minds set on something."

"Not unless we make them sit down and rationalize," Nathan stated, but the lupine's sarcastic laughing cut him off.

"You think they'll listen to you?" Wolf chuckled, shaking his head. "They won't listen to anyone that'll tell them different. I tried, believe me I've tried, but they will _not_ listen. They won't even listen to their own kind; what makes you think they'll listen to yours?"

"Hold on," Nathan said, raising his hand up slightly. "They probably wouldn't listen to me before, but they sure as hell will now."

"Hah! What'll make 'em, huh?" Wolf said doubtfully. "You gonna threaten 'em? What good'll that do ya?"

Nathan grew tired of the lupine's nagging, so he un-holstered his silenced silver handgun and pressed it up against the orange vulpine's temple, right underneath his ear. Fox instantly froze faster than a computer with a virus and inhaled a big gasp of air, feeling the barrel of the cold weapon pushed deep into his fur. Wolf faintly recoiled at the sudden sight with a terrified look on his maw.

"That got your attention, didn't it?" Nathan taunted, caressing the handle of the weapon. "No different with the rest of you guys. As soon as they realize I have him, they _will_ negotiate to get him back."

Wolf could not reply. He was still holding his breath as the light sneaking in from the windows glinted off the weapon. Fox was easily just as terrified as the lupine was. He remembered the human telling him he wouldn't hurt him just moments ago, but he was within inches of blowing his head off.

"Do I make a point?" Nathan said with a smirk. Wolf nodded violently in response.

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Wolf finally spoke up. "Just don't hurt him! Please!"

Nathan chuckled faintly and removed the gun from the kit's fur. Fox instantly let out a sigh of relief, then was attacked by the lupine's paws as Wolf grabbed his head and embraced it.

"Don't worry. I'll never hurt this little guy," Nathan assured, patting the tod's unbroken leg gently. "He's our ticket to the end of these attacks. I need him for negotiations." Wolf nodded, then gave a reassuring wink to the vulpine on the couch.

"So… are you with me on this?" Nathan asked, holstering the weapon. "Can you help me?"

Wolf glanced back at the vulpine, then towards the bearded human. He hesitated, but eventually held out his gray paw.

"I'm in," Wolf affirmed, shaking the human's hand. He suddenly tightened his grip and brought his muzzle within inches of the human's nose. "But, if you ever hurt that one there, or try to pull that shit like you just did again, I will kill you. I am _not_ kidding."

"Don't worry," Nathan said with a smile, "I would never lift a finger to you guys. I'll do everything in my power to keep you guys safe."

Wolf gave a slight pleased grin, then watched as the human pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"I know a friend of mine that works for our space program," Nathan said, tapping the screen. "I'll call him and see if your assumptions are ri–"

"Don't!" Wolf yelled, lashing out like a blur and snatching the phone from the human's grasp. "If you try and call anyone, our military will be right on your doorstep in a heartbeat. They hacked into all your cell grids, and are using them for their own communications lines. They can triangulate anyone's location if they have the given information to do so."

"So they can basically track us?"

"With stuff like this, yes," Wolf responded, shaking the phone like a piece of paper. "If they want someone, like this one for example," he started, patting the vulpine's head. "They'll pull out all the stops to try and locate them."

Nathan nodded, then froze mid nod and had the look of someone that just shit their pants. He eyeballed the vulpine on the couch, then shifted his glance back to the lupine. Wolf instantly donned the same look as the bearded human.

"FOX! Give me your damn transmitter NOW!" Wolf shouted, practically ripping the wristlet off of his arm and throwing it full force at the door, completely shattering the device. If that wasn't good enough, Wolf grabbed his weapon off the table and fired at it, completely vaporizing most of the chips.

Wolf growled and set the gun back down, then looked at the human who was still trying to comprehend what just happened. "De'nue iseu se avios, met'ne suus."

"What are you– oh, damn translations," Nathan grumbled, then activated the translator on his end. Wolf saw the device strapped to the human's wrist and attempted to grab at it, but Nathan pulled away before his paw could clamp down on it.

"Hold on, we need this one. If you want me to understand you, and the other way around, we need this one at least."

Wolf grunted and held out his paw. "Fine. Lemme see it for a quick sec," he motioned two claws towards himself at the human, then pawed at the device on his wrist.

"There," he said, closing the main flap. "Disabled the location markers. Considering they probably didn't know you two had transmitters, they don't have their serials. They won't be able to track yours." He glanced over at the smaller woman, who had the similar device on her wrist as well. "Can you hand me yours, sweetie?"

"If you promise not to call me that ever again," Taylor giggled, removing the device and tossing it across the room to the lupine. "Just keep it. I don't have a use for it."

"Thank you," Wolf grinned, then adjusted the wristlet on his own arm. After he had the correct size, he turned back to Nathan. "Well, since you didn't get rid of Fox's transmitter right away, they probably know where we are. We need to move if you want your plan to work."

Nathan cursed and kicked at the wall. "Alright. I know a place pretty far away from here that we can go to. Friend of mine lives in the mountains in the west. We can camp out up there."

Wolf nodded, then nudged the kit to get up. The four walked out of the small apartment and into the quickly cooling Midwestern evening. The temperature was plummeting just as fast as the impending sunset, and Nathan instantly knew it would be a cold evening.

"You got room for an extra set of legs?" Wolf asked with a faint grin. "I'd take the Arwing but the guys could track them too."

"Yeah," Nathan responded. "Just grab the stuff that you need and load it up in that car. We gotta get out of here quickly."

Wolf obliged, then walked to the stolen fighter and looked around its contents. It had an extra set of clothes, which fit him perfectly since Garrison was Wolf's size, a small handgun, a first-aid kit, and a large, bulging black briefcase. Wolf was hesitant on the bag, but grabbed it nonetheless. The first thing he noticed about it was it was extremely heavy. It was probably heavier than the first-aid kit and his weapon combined. He set the bag and the other contents next to the car's back tire just as Nathan walked out with a medium sized suitcase.

The suitcase had everything he needed; a few sets of clothes, including the Cornerian uniforms, some technological gear, and his ACR with a few other weapons just in case. As he rolled the bag up to the car, he gasped at the briefcase leaning against the tire.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Nathan questioned, grabbing the briefcase up. There was no mistaking it; it was exactly what Nathan presumed it was.

"It was in the Arwing. Why? What is it?"

"It's the damn football!" Nathan shouted, handling the bag like it was radioactive.

"The hell is the football?" Wolf questioned with an eyebrow raised.

"This is our government's super weapon. It's basically a briefcase with the controls to all of the nuclear missiles scattered around the nation. Again, _where did you get this?_"

"_Again_, it was in the Arwing," Wolf responded with eyes wide at what Nathan just explained. "It's not my ship; it belongs to one of the Husky Squadron pilots. They hit the east coast earlier today, which is probably where they found it."

Nathan set the bag in the trunk of the car and looked back at Wolf. "Do you realize what your military would have done with that?"

"Of course," Wolf responded with a scoff. Nathan gave a sly smirk and glanced at the large silver and blue aviation masterpiece that was the Husky Squadron Arwing.

"You stole the right ship," Nathan stated, making Wolf grin slightly.

"Just what I do," he said proudly, then helped the vulpine into the back seat. "You'll be fine back here, right bud?"

"I guess," Fox responded, trying to get comfortable in the seat.

"Yeah, sorry about the seats Fox," Nathan apologized. "They aren't really made for people with tails."

Wolf started to walk to the other side of the vehicle, but not before smacking Nathan in the back of the leg with his own tail. It probably hurt the lupine more than it did the human, considering the tail is a very sensitive part of the Cornerian anatomy. Wolf popped into the passenger seat as Nathan slipped behind the wheel. As he started the car, Taylor jumped up into the open window.

"You guys stay safe out there, m'kay?"

"You're not coming with?" Nathan asked.

Taylor shook her head. "You guys can take care of yourself without me. Plus, I'll just end up slowing you guys down."

Nathan sighed, then half hugged the woman through the window of the car. "I will. And… Thank you so much. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

"Please don't start making me cry," Taylor giggled, sniffing faintly. "Just… Stay safe Nate. I'll be right here waiting for ya."

"Thank you Taylor," Nathan said before putting the car in gear. As he was backing up, he shouted over the engine roar. "I'll try and let you know how things are going."

"Awesome," she responded, then looked in the back seat at the vulpine. "Goodbye Fox! Stay safe!"

Fox smiled and waved back as Nathan pulled out of the parking lot and onto the city street, making a beeline westward for the Rocky Mountains; their only safe haven.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Husky Destroyer<span>**

"How's he doing?" Sharp asked in the small infirmary in the Husky Destroyer. A small husky doctor was working with a machine as he responded.

"He just got his bell rung. He'll be fine once he wakes up," he responded, pushing his glasses farther up his face.

"No, not G. _Him_," Sharp corrected, pointing at the occupied bed next to the unconscious husky.

"Oh, he's alive. We've got him on a little bit of life support since your shot ripped right through the center of his chest. You missed his heart by inches, Alex."

"That's good," Sharp responded, sitting in a chair by the door. "I just wish the other one was still alive."

"What happened to the other one anyway?" the doctor asked, pulling up a chair and sitting next to the tall husky.

"Sheila went mad," Sharp explained, rubbing his left temple. "She went berserk after that one blew Richie's brains out. I'm surprised she didn't go after _him_."

The doctor nodded and looked back at the unconscious human in the bed. "I did manage to find some information about him. Name's Justin Trent. He's an army officer for them; a colonel to be exact. He's also got some background with their space program. He might actually have the information we need."

"The space program?" Sharp echoed. "Like, the missile they launched?"

"I'd assume so," he responded, then patted the larger husky's shoulder. "As soon as he wakes up, I'll call you down. I'll also let Pepper know that we have him as well."

"Thanks doc," Sharp said as the doctor stood back up and checked on the two patients. "I'm gonna check on Sheila. Hopefully she's calmed down a bit."

The dark husky got up and walked out of the medical room, and slowly trotted down the hall towards the copper husky's quarters. As he was within fifty feet of the major's door, his transmitter started buzzing loudly. Sharp stared in curiosity at the caller ID.

"Vince?" Sharp answered the call hesitantly. "Uh… everything alright? You don't usually call–"

"Did you hear what happened?" Vince practically shouted to the large husky. He caressed his left ear as he responded.

"No… What's up?"

"You know James' kit, Fox?"

"Of course," Sharp said with a smile. "Everybody knows little Foxie."

"The humans took him!" Vince blurted out suddenly, stunning the husky on the other end.

"What?! How?" Sharp questioned, disbelieving that the humans were able to kidnap someone of such high importance.

"I- I don't have any clue," Vince said humbly. "We've been working nonstop to try and get him back, but so far we haven't had any luck."

"Do you want me to help?" Sharp asked. "Our mission is done, I can help if–"

"I already asked Pepper, but he wants you guys to rest up and prep for the second assault."

"Damn," Sharp cursed under his breath. "What's this second mission, Vinny?"

"Um," Vince started, trying to jog his memory. "If I'm not mistaken, tomorrow you guys are supposed to take a southern strike and eliminate some military bases in a region called the 'Pacific Southwest'. That'll be a success if we can eliminate all of the bases there."

"Well, I'm sorry Vince, but I need you to tell Pepper we won't be able to fight tomorrow."

"Why? What's wrong Alex?"

Sharp sighed as he leaned up against Sheila's door. "Our squadron took a pretty hefty blow earlier today. I don't think anyone will want to fly tomorrow."

Vince noticeably lowered his voice. "Who?"

"Both Richardson and Gallagher were K.I.A, Garrison took a pretty hard lick, so he'll be out for a while, and Sheila's completely fuckin' lost it."

"Damn," Vince said after the word bomb had finished being recited. "I'm so sorry. I'll contact Pepper right away; let him know that we'll need to put your second mission on hold."

"I'd appreciate that Vinny," Sharp said thoughtfully. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Vince said, then dropped the call. Sharp sighed and put his arm down, then used that same arm to knock on Sheila's door.

_Hopefully she's still awake_, Sharp thought._ I know that was a pretty long and grueling mission, and the emotional toll it took on her was catastrophic, but she needs to know what's up. She loves little Foxie; she'll want to know._

A few seconds passed, but nothing happened. There wasn't even a slight rustling inside, or even any recognition that he was even at the door. Again, Sharp pounded on the door with more force, but the same response came from the other end; a lack of one.

"Sheila?" he called out from the other side. "She, you alright? I need to talk to ya."

Sharp knew that the copper husky was not a heavy sleeper, so either she was ignoring him, or she wasn't even there. Sharp pounded on the door again, but silence still resounded from the other end.

"Sheila," Sharp stated sternly. "Come on Spitzie, open up. I need to tell you something."

The silence on the other end quickly transitioned from annoying to worrisome. Sharp swiftly pulled out his transmitter, scanned the door with the machine, and opened the door to the husky's room. As he walked in, the fur on the back of his neck stood on end, and a cold chill ran down his spine.

"Where'd she go?"

Almost as if on cue, the alarm for the main hangar doors opening blared loudly, and he could hear the sound of a G-diffuser warming up. Sharp bolted from the female husky's room and down to the hangar, but once he stepped foot in the hangar he saw the light copper husky shutting her Arwing cockpit and immediately shot out towards the surface of the planet.

"Fuck!" Sharp barked, kicking the wall. He pulled up his transmitter and instantly called the husky. "What the hell are you doing? You don't have any authorization–"

"I'm done," Sheila interrupted calmly. "I'm not fighting anymore. You can take over."

"What? Why?"

A few more seconds passed in silence, then right as he was going to question her again she spoke up in the same way she said before.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this shit."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Rockford, Illinois<span>**

"This the place?" Wes called out as he flew over a medium sized apartment complex almost 750 feet below. The building was a dark shade of brown with some pigments of black strewn all around it; which was tough to decipher with the quickly darkening sky swarming them. James glanced at his radar screen in his Arwing HUD and responded.

"According to Arti's tracker, he's in there," he said, then cracked his knuckles. "Let's rough up these kidnapping sons of bitches."

Wes chuckled as he knifed downward and brought his Arwing down in a small field across the street from the building complex. Just as planned, James and Sarah came down right behind him, while Wallace and Riley circled the sky around the building with their search lights on. James pulled out a flashlight and strapped it to the top of his rifle as he approached the other two rescuers.

"Okay, follow me, and stay quiet," the orange vulpine commanded, then hesitantly crossed the street and trotted up to the building. As Sarah was scanning the area with her own flashlight, she gasped as her light reflected off of something metallic. Something familiarly metallic.

"Mr. McCloud, check this out," she piped up in her young feminine voice. She sounded polite and stern, albeit she was a teenage girl. James quickly came up next to her, and he growled as he recognized the object being illuminated.

"What the hell is one of our Arwings doing down here?" he said through clenched teeth. Wes deviated from his position and shone a light on the right G-diffuser; right on the husky head.

"One of the huskies is with them," Wes announced with a scoff. "That's one of their ships."

James growled in the back of his throat as he stormed up to the cockpit and searched the contents. "Husky 8… Who's Husky 8?"

"That's uhh… Garrison," Sarah responded. "Anthony Garrison."

James harshly slammed the cockpit shut as he dropped off of the ship. "That son of a bitch is working for them," he growled bitterly, then raised his rifle back up and pointed at the house. As they inched closer to the building, James pulled out his transmitter and pulled up the tracking device. He followed the dot to the second story, and the third door on that floor marked with the numbers '43'. The three of them stood their tails up against the wall, and waited for James to make a move.

"Now!" James barked, pushing off the wall and putting his boot through the door, practically tearing the door off of its hinges. The three of them stormed in with guns primed and triggers tightened. However, the small apartment was completely empty and pitch black. Sarah located a light switch and suddenly bathed the room in a dull yellow light from the corner of the room. James kept transitioning his eyes from his transmitter to the room itself, with his worried look growing with each transition.

"He's right here…" James said distantly. "I'm standing right on top of him. Where the hell is he?"

"You sure that it's calibrated correctly?" Sarah asked, walking up to the orange vulpine. Sarah was significantly shorter than James, which made the sight of the silver vulpine struggling to see the screen somewhat funny. Wes himself couldn't keep a straight face as he watched her fight to see his screen.

"I don't see why it wouldn't," James responded, poking at the transmitter. "I just fixed it not–"

James stopped mid-sentence as he heard something crack underneath his boot. He lifted up his left foot, and noticed a small green chip that had been snapped under his weight. He bent down to pick it up, then gasped as it reflected off of the light in the corner.

"This is part of our transmitters… He was here, but god only knows where he is now! God dammit we were too fuckin' late!"

James growled and sank down on the large couch, and pawed his forehead in despair. He let a few quiet sobs escape his maw as he buried his face into his arms. Sarah herself started getting emotional at the sight of the sobbing vulpine, so she slid up beside him and awkwardly spoke up.

"Mr. McCloud, please don't cry. We'll find him."

Wes growled angrily in the back of his throat, cutting off the vixen. "Do you know where they are then?" he questioned harshly. "Can you find them Bowman? Can you find them so I can give them what–"

Wes suddenly stopped as both of his gray tinged ears stuck straight up and twitched. He noticed a feminine figure holding a small box come out from the hallway out of the corner of his eye, and as soon as she noticed the armed Cornerians, her eyes widened and instantly dropped the box.

"Oh shit," she muttered, throwing her arm down to pull the silver handgun from her pants. Wes instantly noticed the object she was shooting for and fired first, putting three or four lasers into the human's frame. She instantly fell to the ground, coughing up blood and gasping for breath. Two of the hybrid's shots ripped through the female's chest, one through her leg, and another through her left arm. Wes brutally picked up the woman by her long, braided brown hair and forcefully slammed her up against the wall with his muzzle contracted in complete enragement.

Taylor chuckled as she let another bloody cough exit her body. "Killing me won't solve anything. You want your kid, you have to find him… I ain't telling you where he is."

"He ain't my kit," Wes snapped, bringing his other arm against the human's neck. "I don't care what happens to him. All I want is to see your kind suffer for what you've done to us."

Wes' gray tinged ear twitched as he heard a click resound from right behind his head. He turned his head around just enough to see James holding the rifle up to his head to the point where he could see down the barrel of the weapon.

"What was that?" James questioned angrily. "He's my fuckin' kit, now put her down before I kill _you_."

"Don't get pissy with me McCloud," Wes retorted, not releasing his hold. Taylor was gasping and sputtering for breath under the hybrid's arm, and not to mention the immense pain she was experiencing as she felt the intense heat from the lasers in her stomach. "If you're gonna kill someone, kill her."

"Then get out of my way," James commanded, swiping at the wolf-dog with his rifle. "I'm honestly more pissed with you right now."

"What the hell did I do?" Wes shot, tightening the grip on the human's throat. "I saved your life by taking down this son of a bitch. You should be thanking me!"

"Why should I thank you when you just said you don't care about my kit?" James impatiently asked, fondling the trigger of his rifle.

Wes scoffed faintly as he donned a sly smirk. "He's your kit McCloud; not mine. I couldn't care less about what happens to him."

James succumbed to his increasing rage, and pulled the weapon back up, thrusting it up against the wolf-dog's forehead. Sarah gasped loudly and covered her muzzle, while Wes snickered as he felt the cold barrel in his fur.

"You won't do it," Wes taunted with a scowl. "You couldn't kill your own kind, no matter what they said to you. You're too soft."

"You wanna see me change that?" James questioned irately, priming the weapon.

"Do it then," Wes egged the vulpine on with a smirk. "Prove me wrong."

"James, please don't!" Sarah pleaded. James ignored her and tightened his grip on the rifle and caressed the trigger with his claw, continuing to glare at the wolf-dog. Wes' muzzle was still curled upwards, and his gray ears were sticking straight up.

"Come on James," Wes pestered quietly, keeping his chokehold on the female behind him. "I know you want to do it. Come on! Shoot me if you're gonna shoot me!"

James pushed the hybrid's skull back with the barrel of his gun, but it didn't discourage him one bit.

"Do it! Fuckin' do it James! Fuckin' shoot–"

James threw the rifle down, then instantly lashed out and landed a staggering blow to the wolf-dog's muzzle, causing him to yelp and falter backwards into a bookshelf. He collided with the furniture piece harshly, letting his knees buckle as he fell onto his tail with both of his paws over his nose. James spun around to the human who had slid down the wall and was desperately trying to catch her breath. He lowered himself to one knee and glared at the human.

"Where the hell is he?" James questioned through clenched teeth. Taylor sputtered with blood leaking from her mouth, then coughed violently, getting a few drops of blood onto the vulpine's green flight suit pants.

"I… I don't know…" Taylor whispered. "I wouldn't tell you anyway…"

James faintly growled in the back of his throat, the inched closer to the human's dying frame. "Tell me now, and I'll help you. We can save you if you just tell me where they've taken him."

Taylor chuckled again as another drop of blood oozed from her mouth. "You furries aren't getting anything from me…"

Taylor coughed violently again, then slouched even lower on the wall as she gasped for breath. James grabbed at her arm and attempted to bring her back up. Sarah dropped her weapon and rushed up alongside the orange vulpine.

"Please," James pleaded. "Just tell me where my kit is. I'm begging you."

Taylor's eyes shut as she let a smirk escape her face. "And… what'll happen… when we beg you to stop your attacks? Will… you listen?"

"What are you–"

"We didn't start this," Taylor coughed, feeling the world around her darkening. "We did not start a war with you guys… If anyone started this war… it was you…"

James lifted his head back up and cocked it at the vixen next to him. Sarah gave her own confused stare back, then turned back when the human started chuckling distantly.

"I… I know… where they went… but… you… you have to promise me something…"

"What is it?" James quickly asked, leaning closer to the dying human.

Taylor choked back another bloody cough, then smirked again as another crimson drop dripped down out of the corner of her face. She lifted her right hand off of the wound on her midsection and dropped it to her side, then used the last of her strength to tighten her fingers.

"Promise me you'll see me in hell."

**_BANG_**


	13. Driving & Drinking

**A/N: Okay, I'm done leaving you guys on a cliff face. The suspense was fun while it lasted, no? ;)**

**Anyway guys, thank you so much for the feedback on the last one. Still baffles me how you guys can waste your time with this. Haha I'm joking, but really, I appreciate you guys taking time to leave feedback. I honestly can't say it enough.**

**Alright, back to the story at hand. As usual, I'd appreciate any and all feedback if possible. Things are starting to heat up, as most of you can obviously see, and I want to know how you guys are reacting to it. You guys take care, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Taylor managed to use her remaining strength to pull out the weapon and haphazardly fired at the anthro soldiers surrounding her. She obviously was targeting the orange vulpine that was closest to her face, but with her immense blood loss she couldn't see straight and missed her vulpine target.<p>

She hit something else.

James cringed as the weapon went off, then immediately after the shot resounded, numerous warm drops scattered onto his face and muzzle. He gasped when he noticed the warm liquid on his face, but felt his heart drop like a rock in pure water as he realized it was not his. He slowly and hesitantly opened his eyes to the sight of the gun on the floor and the human's chest not moving. The warm, red drops on his muzzle traversed down his fur and dropped onto his flight suit as he slowly turned around just in time to see the silver vixen that was crouching next to him fall flat on her back.

"Sarah!" James cried, spinning around and dropping low to her frame. He put a paw on the side of her neck to check for a pulse, but felt even more wet warmth on his paw. He lifted his paw out of the vixen's curls, then noticed his paw was dyed almost completely crimson. The wound on the vixen's head spread from the silver curls to the light carpeted floor, turning both surfaces the same deep shade of red as the orange vulpine's scarf.

James stood there motionless, watching the blood pour out of the lifeless vixen. He turned back to the human corpse with an enraged fire in his eyes, contracting his muzzle in complete seething rage.

"You BITCH!" James snarled, storming over to the lifeless human's frame and began throwing punch after brutal punch at the female's unmoving face and chest. His blood was absolutely boiling and his muscles seemed to work on their own as he pounded on the lifeless human relentlessly, seeming as though he was taking out all the hell he was dealing with on his new improvised punching bag. As soon as his muscles became as heated as his veins, he crumpled to the ground at the feet of the corpse with tears streaming from his emerald eyes. He about let a sob escape his maw, but stopped when the hybrid sitting up against the bookcase grunted in disbelief.

"Holy shit James," Wes gapped, continuing to fondle his nose. "You… What the hell happened to you?"

James again dipped his head and let the tears flow down his fur like a small waterfall. Wes slowly shook his head as he stood up and lifted his rifle off the ground.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but you are _not_ James McCloud," he stated, looking disapprovingly at the vulpine. "There's no way the James I know would threaten to kill his own troops, then beat the shit out of a damn corpse because she just murdered someone. You… You've changed James… I don't know why you did, but whatever found its way up your ass needs to find a new home."

James eventually crumpled all the way down on the floor; sitting on his tail while sobbing faintly.

"James, they're using Fox as a hostage," Wes announced, patting the vulpine's shoulder. James instantly lashed out and grabbed the hybrid's wrist harshly, contracting his muzzle and baring his teeth.

"Don't think I don't know that," he snarled, almost crushing the wolf-dog's wrist.

"Then why don't you do something about it," Wes retorted, jerking his paw free.

"I'M TRYING!" James barked in a cracking voice, shooting up into a standing position. "Don't you understand? I'm busting my tail off to try and find him! What do you think we've been doing for the past two hours? Havin' a fuckin' joy ride, taking in the surroundings before we burn it to the ground? I'm trying to get my damn kit back you sick bastard!"

"And you're not going to!" Wes snapped sourly, glaring at the vulpine. "Don't you understand McCloud? They're not going to give Fox back. No amount of negotiations, peace talks, or compromises can amount to what they are gonna ask for him. The only way you're gonna get him back alive is if he manages to survive the hell we're going to put this planet through."

Wes curled his muzzle downwards and shook his head again as James' maw unhinged at what he just announced. He tromped over to the doorway, then right before he stepped out he turned his head back around and gave a nasty scowl.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting _my_ revenge on these aliens, whether you're with me or not."

With that, the wolf-dog stormed out of the apartment and out into the cool, crisp night air. A few minutes later, the boom of an Arwing was heard in the distance. James climbed back up off the blood stained floor, then crumpled back down on the couch with his eyes buried in his paws.

Wes was right. He had changed, and not in a good way. He let his emotions take over too much, and didn't let his instincts or training shine. He acted too much on impulse. He wasn't an impulsive fox, but this insane string of events he had been dealing with at the hands of the humans turned his character upside down. He went from a kindhearted, rational fox to a fox seething with blind rage and fury.

That wasn't him.

The humans were trying to kill him from the inside out. They were messing with his emotions, his personal life, his dignity, and anything else they could get their filthy, furless paws on. Wes was right; the humans needed to taste their revenge. They claimed way too many lives, and now it was time for them to pay up. They all needed to pay; especially the ones who had taken his kit away.

"Too many lives," James echoed aloud, glancing at the lifeless vixen laying in a pool of her own blood beside himself. His mind started a flashback of countless images of the blazing Corneria City, with bodies littering the streets and debris covering the ground for miles. Images of the people he had come to know back home, laying lifeless in the streets. Tens, hundreds, thousands of his friends back home dead; murdered for absolutely no reason but for sheer pleasure at the hands of the culprits.

James paws began to ball up in another spell of rage. As soon as the rage was about to boil over into an inconsolable fit, another image popped into his mind that instantly capped his anger; the traumatic moment of seeing his wife lying motionless in the grass in their yard. His rage quickly was replaced with heartbrokenness.

"Too many lives," he echoed again in a cracking voice as he stood up and glanced back down at his boots. He momentarily fished inside of his pocket for a few seconds before pulling out a small golden locket. Inside were two pictures; the first being a picture of himself and Vixy on their wedding day. Both of them were dressed to a tee; James wearing a very neat and tidy suit with a red bowtie, and Vixy wearing a gleaming, vibrant, snow white dress. Both were showing their pearly white vulpine teeth with massive smiles as James had his arm wrapped around his new wife. It was the second happiest moment of the vulpine's life.

The second picture was easily James' happiest moment; their first professional picture with his new kit. Fox was less than a month old in the picture, and he was swaddled in a pale, faded green blanket in James arms while Vixy stood beside them. Fox had a toothless smile and a tiny orange paw sticking out of the blanket which was wrapped around one of James' much larger fingers. Even though Fox was extremely young, he looked exactly like his father. The pale green eyes were identical on both vulpines, and both of them were absolutely ecstatic.

What he would do to rewind and have that moment again.

What he would do to bring Vixy back and have her at his side for the rest of his life. What he would do to quit his life as a mercenary and live every moment with his family that he still had. There were too many things he would like to take back and do over again so that they would end up exactly the way he wanted them to. It was too late now; everything had changed.

They took away the love of his life, but they would not get away with taking his kit. He wouldn't allow the humans to take another one of his loved ones away. He couldn't get Vixy back, but he sure as hell would fight to get Fox back. He'd fight to his last breath to get him back.

"Too many lives," James repeated again, closing the locket and stuffing it back into his pocket. "I won't let them take away another one. Not while I'm still breathing."

James sorrowfully walked over to the lifeless vixen and placed a paw over her silver curls. "I… I'm so sorry Sarah… I tried… I failed you… I've failed everyone…"

James growled softly as he shot up and picked his rifle off the ground.

"I won't fail you Fox… Mark my words… I will get you back."

* * *

><p><strong><span>50 miles west of Omaha, Nebraska<span>**

Nathan glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard of the car.

_1:37 A.M._

Driving was beginning to take a toll on him. He had been driving for well over six hours, and he wasn't even halfway to his intended destination. The monotony of the vacant roads and street signs being illuminated by his headlights made him start feeling very lethargic. However, the only thing keeping him awake was his thoughts, and his determination; not to mention the lupine that was in the passenger seat next to him as well.

He was making all kinds of faint sounds as he fiddled with his wrist transmitter. Quiet grunts, moans, mumbles, and grumbles were heard from the passenger seat as he continuously fidgeted with the device. At times it seemed that he had given up and fallen asleep, but every time Nathan looked back at him, he was back fixing his transmitter.

Nathan glanced behind the seat to the fox in the back seat, fast asleep with his head dangling on the seatbelt. He didn't blame the kit one bit for being dead asleep. His world got turned upside down in a matter of hours, going from a calm life away from combat to right in the center of crossfire between two of the greatest powers in the entire universe. Boy, what a hell of a jump to make, and the emotional toll that it took with it was astronomical as well, judging by his current physical condition.

Nathan looked back over at Wolf, who looked like he was shivering even under his jacket and thick gray fur. It was fairly frigid, being in the low forties at night, which is why Nathan threw on his heavy hooded jacket before he stepped behind the wheel. He poked at the glove box in front of the lupine.

"There should be a blanket or something in there," Nathan pointed out. Wolf needed no second invitation as he opened the container and pulled out a dark gray blanket, then swiftly wrapped it around his torso. Nathan chuckled quietly as he refocused on the road.

"Thanks," the lupine said, already starting to feel warmer.

After a few awkward moments of silence, Nathan hesitantly spoke up. "So, I never got a proper explanation on why you guys are so determined on wiping us out. If it's not too much of a request, could you please explain for me as best you can?"

Wolf shifted in his seat, cleared his throat, and then looked over at the human who was still focused on the road. "So, I filled you in about the satellite, right?"

"Our botched satellite, yes."

"Well, by a stroke of twisted, sadistic luck, that satellite came down right in our capital city main square. It wouldn't be that much of a deal if it was a normal satellite, but it was one that used a combustible fuel source for powering the instruments of the machine instead of solar power. So, basically, as soon as it hit the ground, it exploded with more force than we could ever hope to achieve without going to full-on nuclear weaponry."

"Good lord," Nathan mumbled under his breath.

"And it seems _I'm_ the only one that isn't running off of blind rage," Wolf said, somewhat bitterly. "I'm the only one of them that actually thinks rationally, but that doesn't seem to matter if I can't find someone willing to listen."

"Not even your military or anyone?"

Wolf growled slightly as he looked out the window. "Not a single damn one of them," he grumbled, then glanced back at the little vulpine in the back seat as he continued. "And Fox's father James, who would usually be the most rational thinker in a situation like this, is probably the one with the most blood lust in reality."

"How come?"

Wolf sighed and glanced down at the floor of the car. "The blast from that satellite threw his wife from the tree in our yard and killed her. That's how little Foxie back there fractured his leg too. And James… well… he still hasn't recovered from the grief of having his wife die unexpectedly and in the manner she did."

"So that's why he's pissed," Nathan stated, feeling the tugging on his heart strings.

"He's fuckin' livid," Wolf explained with a scoff. "He's the only reason why half of us are here. He talked our general into launching a counter-attack without actually investigating the situation. James just wanted to avenge his wife, without taking the other side's argument."

"So this is basically revenge with a universally unsettled origin about it?"

"Oh it's been completely settled alright," Wolf stated, donning a slight scowl. "They all _assumed_ it was a missile, and deduced it was an act of war because of it. That's why we're here; to fight our battles of this stupidly unnecessary war."

"So, even though your military doesn't have a logical explanation or substantial evidence proving it, they still declare war on us?"

"That's what I would like to know," Wolf grunted, picking his head back up. "They can't give any evidence to prove why it was an attack, but yet I can give them a Transporter full of evidence on how it _wasn't_, and they brush me aside like last week's newspaper."

Nathan sighed as he switched lanes on the highway, increasing his speed to almost eighty miles an hour. "Believe me, I know the feeling."

Wolf looked over and cocked his head with narrowed eyes. "How would you know?" he said with a faint trace of doubt and hostility.

"I mean, I know what it's like to have nobody listen to you, even though you are obviously right, and that leading into a huge mistake."

Wolf cocked his head even further. "How so?"

"A few years ago during a war that our country had on the other side of the planet with another country, we had an incident that sparked a nation-wide debate that determined the fate of the war itself. Basically, this other country claimed it had the capabilities of nuking the ever living shit out of ours, and if there's one thing you need to know about my country, it's that we do not take kindly to threats; especially about war and violence for that matter."

Nathan coughed a little as he continued. "Anyway, long story short, the 'sadists' won their argument, and we ended up launching an attack and taking over that country in a matter of days. However, that country had its friends, and the retaliatory measures against us did not go in our favor."

Nathan sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "It was an absolute slaughter against us. There was no warning. Just as fast as we took over that country, they took it right back with countless causalities amongst our troops. A merciless slaughter. Taylor and I… we… were lucky to escape with our lives."

"And that's what my kind is going to do to yours if we can't find a way to stop them," Wolf stated. "They're gonna continue launching attacks on you guys until their blood lust is satisfied. If you guys can't find a way to fight back, or if our plan backfires, it'll be an uncontested victory for us. Well, for them… not me."

"You don't support them one bit? Even if they are your home planet?"

"Why should I?" Wolf asked with a dirty look. "They're all sadistic animals. They want nothing to do with anyone that tries to tell them differently. Exhibit A of that fact is sitting in your car right now," he added, putting his paw on his chest.

Nathan smirked at the lupine's comment, then once again transitioned lanes on the desolate highway. Wolf spoke up again in a slight growl.

"If they don't want to listen to what I have to say, then they'll have to suffer the consequences," Wolf said coldly. "If your military doesn't put up a good enough fight tomorrow or any other day, or if this plan of yours falls through, then _I_ will personally see that the Cornerian Defense Force be put through a hell that they wish they never got their sorry tails stuck into. I _will_ prove them wrong."

Nathan could hardly believe his ears. One of the enemies was fighting on his side, and from what he gathered from the lupine, he would do it until he made his point clear. He would put everything on the line to defend his position. Nobody he knew could say that about anything anymore.

Although Wolf was considered an enemy species-wise, he wasn't an enemy at heart.

Nathan slowly pulled off to the shoulder and brought the car to a complete stop. He looked over at Wolf, who was giving the human a quizzical look. Nathan smiled, then held out his hand to the lupine.

"Thank you," he said thoughtfully, grasping his gray, fuzzy paw. "I'll do my best to see if I can't find a way to figure this out."

Nathan glanced back at the vulpine, who was sound asleep, curled up in one of his spare jackets. He was even smiling slightly in his sleep. Wolf himself chuckled a bit as he spoke again.

"And don't worry; if it gives me a chance to prove those bloodthirsty military leaders back home wrong, I'll stay with ya," Wolf stated, staring at the human with a grin. "I'm gonna make sure they know they acted on impulse. I'll back you up Nate. I promise."

"Wow… thank you so much," Nathan said from the bottom of his heart, then turned the car off. "We'll get back on the road tomorrow. I'm beat."

"Alright," Wolf nodded, then turned around and gazed out the window into the starry night sky. He made a slight glance to the transmitter on his wrist, but quickly switched back to the sky.

_If I call anyone now, they'll spot us right away. We gotta stay under the radar._

_And who would I call anyway? James would just rub in his shit all over me, Sheila is probably still pissed and wants nothing to do with me anymore, and everyone else would criticize me saying that I was wrong. Well, I'm not the one that's wrong, aren't I? I've finally got first hand evidence right next to me, and I'd love to tell them how wrong they are right now. But what'll that do? It won't stop their assault. The only thing that'll stop the attack is Fox. Nathan's idea is great, but I have my doubts on its effectiveness. They will find us; it's just a matter of time._

Wolf took another glance at the transmitter, staring at a holographic contact of the light copper husky.

_What happened Sheila? What happened to the girl I loved back home? That… what happened on the ship… that wasn't you. That couldn't have been you. You would never blow up at someone like that; especially me. You love me, and I the same to you._

Wolf sighed and turned the transmitter off, then lowered his car seat and flipped around to look out the window into the beautiful night sky.

_Sheila… I don't care what you say to me; whether it be criticism or downright condemnation… I'll still love you. Wherever you are right now, just know that I wish I was right there next to you. I love you to death Sheila… I just wish I could say that to you right now… _

* * *

><p><strong><span>Peterson Air Force Base – Colorado Springs, Colorado<span>**

One of the controllers watching the skies around the base was practically falling asleep at his station as he gazed at his empty radar screen. It had been like that for the entire night, but yet he still had to watch just in case. They couldn't get any nationwide support because any and all long range instruments had been compromised due to their satellite grid being hacked into. Luckily, their short-range landlines and radar tracking systems still worked, and word spread about the attack form base to base faster than fresh gossip at a high school.

Every precautionary measure in the books were being utilized by the U.S. Military. They had most of their aircrafts on standby and could be launched in a matter of seconds. Nuclear defense was out of the question, because they only seemed to be attacking locations on their home soil. They would never launch nukes on their own territory, even in a situation like this.

Besides, the president had been killed, as well as almost every other authoritative figure. They combed over D.C. countless times, sparing no buildings or structures whatsoever. They made sure that the humans' capital looked just as bad as their own. Probably even worse than their own, but they didn't care. They had apparently brought it on themselves to have their country glassed; and not a single soul on the humans' side knew why.

The controller took a sip of coffee, but immediately spit it off to the side as he glanced at his short-wave radar screen again.

"Guys we got one!" he shouted, waving his hand. "Ten klicks northeast; bearing 155."

"Just one?" another person asked as he appeared behind the radar controller.

The first controller glanced around his screen, but did not see any other bogeys other than the one on his screen. He shook his head negatively and responded. "Yup. This guy's all alone."

The second controller turned around and spoke loudly across the room. "Get weapons locked on it now. I want that son of a bitch on the ground."

Another officer acknowledged by speaking loudly into an intercom system. "All units, be advised; single enemy fighter in quadrant bravo, stand by for further instructions."

"Weapons locked," another officer said firmly. The second controller cracked his knuckles and responded.

"Bring 'em down."

"Weapons away," that same controller said with the same inflection as the sounds of missiles being launched reverberated in the military base. They had a radar tracker on the missiles as well, and as soon as they came up on the screen zooming towards the enemy aircraft the first controller chuckled.

"Looks like he found 'em. Taking some evasive maneuvers."

The second controller raised an eyebrow at the screen as he saw the red dot jumping around in the screen. "He's pretty agile for a fighter jet."

"Don't worry, we launched our best rockets," the weapons controller responded. "He ain't getting away from them, no matter how hard he tries." Just as he finished, the blip suddenly ceased moving, as well as the rocket signal being lost.

"Target hit," the other weapons manager said. "Went down just west of 24."

"Alright, get a team out there to find the wreckage," the second controller announced. "If the pilot's still alive, grab him too."

"Understood, Colonel Edler," another soldier responded, then gave his salute and shot out of the office.

"Why do you want the pilot, sir?" the first controller asked after the door shut.

Colonel Edler cracked his neck and sat in the nearest seat. "So I can figure out what they want from us."

"But sir they're–"

"No, they have a reason, don't even tell me it's not for a specific reason," Edler retorted calmly. "If they're going through all this trouble to try and wipe us out, there has to be a motive around it. You saw what they did! They hacked into our ACS feeds and launched a phantom attack on the west coast, and while we were focused on that, they swoop in and obliterate everything lined on I95. They have to have a motive behind their attacks."

"Then what would it be, sir?" the controller asked expectantly.

"I wouldn't have the slightest idea," he responded, rubbing his forehead. "That's why I want this pilot. If they're fighting like they have been all day today, obviously they know something we don't. I'm gonna get this information out of him; one way or another."

"You're not gonna torture this guy, are you?"

"If I have to," Edler replied. "He don't wanna talk, I'll make him talk."

"Sir, that could get you in a lot of trouble–"

"We're already neck deep in trouble!" Elder snapped, bolting off of the chair. "If I have to break a few rules to get this alien to talk, then I'll rip the rulebook in half. I'll rip this damn alien in half if I have to!"

Edler slowly walked away and propped himself on the nearest wall, the rubbed his temple as he lowered his head.

"As soon as we figure out who or what we're up against, we can easily wipe them out. I'll make damn sure of it."

**#####**

"Fuck," Sheila cursed, groaning in pain and trying to move out of her crippled fighter. Luckily, the rocket that hit her Arwing only clipped the wing of it, which didn't damage the cockpit in any way, but the fact that she plummeted almost a thousand feet and slammed into the ground with extremely brutal force did. She was incredibly dazed and disoriented, but she needed to get out. There was a fire burning just outside of the cockpit, and she could smell the G-diffusers starting to ignite. Once those combusted, it was all over.

She groaned out in intense pain as she unclipped her seatbelt and attempted to unhook the cockpit, but she couldn't muster enough strength to unhinge it with her arms alone. She managed to flip around, and harshly kicked the cockpit window with her leg. After the hinges had been broken off, she struggled to climb out of the crippled fighter jet.

"God damn piece of shit," Sheila grunted through her clenched canine teeth, then flipped her leg out of the cockpit. She didn't realize the handle to get out of the Arwing without falling out of it was missing, and ended up slipping off of the sleek aircraft and falling onto her tail.

"Fuckin'… OUCH!" Sheila growled, unable to move at all. She felt a warm spot on the side of her midsection, and a drop of blood running down her face. She put a paw over the torso wound, and groaned as she attempted to apply pressure. She didn't even have to look at it, but she knew that the gash was large and deep, and it would probably kill her if she didn't get help right away.

She was immersed in total, excruciating pain to the point where she could not even stand herself up. She needed to call for help, but she could not get her arm to respond enough to bring the transmitter close to her. Another thing that kicked her in the ass was the fact that it was bitterly cold. She had come down in a place of high elevation, which she instantly deduced because of the lack of air she seemed to be getting. It was either that, or her injuries were taking a toll on her quicker than she had previously anticipated.

She noticed headlights out of the corner of her eye, and the distant sound of a car engine. She wasn't usually pessimistic, but she knew that it wasn't help she was about to get. She struggled to try and get herself up and hide, but her wounds limited her movement almost entirely.

"There it is! I see the fire!"

The truck came to a stop on the side of the road which overlooked the ditch that the fighter had gone into. There was a distinct path that the ship had carved into the dirt before it finally came to a stop. Two heavily equipped soldiers jumped out of the truck and inched down into the ditch where the crippled fighter was.

"Hey, there's the pilot!" the one soldier shouted, shining a bright beam on the injured frame. "Looks like he's still alive."

Sheila struggled to move her head which was buried in her light colored hair, then growled softly at the quickly advancing soldiers.

"Did he just growl at you?" the second soldier asked.

"I don't know… Probably just– What the hell?"

The soldier was standing directly over the figure on the ground, but was looking directly at the light copper tail that jutted out from the pilot's pants. He kicked it harshly, causing the husky to yelp in a very high frequency.

"Hey, Don, it's a dog," the soldier announced. "It's like a human, but like a dog at the same time. I've never seen anything like it."

Sheila slowly reached down at her handgun, but the soldier grabbed her arm and flipped her over. She groaned in pain once again as the soldier forced both of her arms behind her.

"Nué sich diza!" she snarled, trying to kick at the soldiers.

"Oh, hey it's a girl pilot," the soldier Don exclaimed.

"Take her weapons and shit. I don't want her going off on us," the other soldier commanded, continuously holding her arms down. He managed to peel the husky's wrist transmitter from her arm, and pocketed the small device.

"I got some kind of watch," he announced. "What'd you get?"

"Handgun, and that's pretty much it," Don responded. "Edler said he wanted the pilot. You wanna load her up?"

"I'll load her up all right," the other soldier said with a smirk, tapping the base of the female's tail, causing it to flick wildly. Don also laughed faintly at the comment, but still grabbed the handcuffed husky up and forcefully walked her to the truck.

"Keep walking, fuzz-ball," Don commanded harshly, poking at the canine's back with his gun. Sheila fell to the ground after only walking for less than twenty feet, groaning loudly in pain. The other soldier sighed and brutally grabbed her up, setting the somewhat light husky on his shoulder.

Sheila could not move a muscle at all. She was completely numbed in pain and blood loss. As the soldiers threw her in the back of the truck, she felt the world around her starting to get darker and more distant. She fought to the best of her abilities to stay conscious, but eventually succumbed to the pain and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Great Fox<span>**

James sat on his bedside, illuminated by a small desk lamp on his nightstand. It was extremely late at night for the vulpine, but he could not sleep. Not even if he tried.

His anxiety and fear was through the roof knowing his kit was still in the hands of the humans. Hell, they could be torturing the poor kit for all he knew. They could be doing anything they wanted to Fox, and he wouldn't be able to stop it. He was always there to intervene for Fox at school if there were bullies. He always had the kit's back, but this was another story. He was miles away, and completely vulnerable.

He stared at the small piece of paper that was found on the kit's door intently. That number on the page was just screaming to be called, but he couldn't bring himself to calling it. It was Cornerian policy; don't answer to threats or hostages. He always agreed with that policy, but now that he was experiencing it first paw, it was the worst law ever created.

James set the paper on his nightstand and took off his bloodstained flight suit. He threw on a pair of black, loose fitting sweatpants and wound the red scarf around his neck, not bothering to put on a shirt as he trotted out of his quarters. As he walked down the hall, he could still hear some of the soldiers on the other levels of the ship laughing and cheering about their victory in their quarters. If only they knew the real outcome of the battle.

The orange vulpine slipped into an empty break room on his floor and turned the light on, bathing the room in a bright white light from the ceiling. There were three couches in a U shape around a very large and flat TV. Behind the couches was a small kitchen-like area with a stovetop, fridge, and a decently sized oven. The room was one of the few rooms that was carpeted, besides the kitchen being a worn out checkerboard tile. James instantly walked over to the fridge and rummaged around inside of it, making a loud clattering sound as he pushed up against glass bottles. He found an opaque dark brown bottle, then shut the fridge and plopped down on the couch, letting the cool leather soothe his exposed torso fur.

James cracked open the beer bottle and took a long drink, but just as he put the bottle on the table near the couch he heard footsteps come into the room with him.

"James?" Riley called out, seeing the orange fox's exposed white ventral fur sprawled out on the couch. "What are you doing?"

"Havin' a beer," James responded hollowly. "Sup with you?"

"Wondering why you're drinking without me," Riley chuckled, walking over to the fridge in the corner and pulling out a bottle exactly like the vulpine's. The avian cracked it open as he sat down next to the fox.

"What's up Riley?" James asked with a smirk. Riley took a quick swig and responded.

"Checkin' up on you," Riley said calmly. "Making sure you don't go insane because of all the shit you've been dealing with."

James let a larger smile crease his muzzle as he sat himself up on the couch. "You've been taking care of me a lot now since this war started… Why?"

Riley took another quick drink, then looked into the vulpine's green eyes. "I may not express it much, but I do care for my team. My family. You're family to me James, and I care about my family."

James again gave another big smile to the avian, but all Riley did was sigh and looked down as he lowered his voice. "And I saw what you tried to do a few days ago."

James' smile instantly was replaced with a stupefied look as his maw unhinged. "Y-you… saw that?"

Riley nodded while still not making eye contact. James let a sigh out of his lungs as he sank down on the couch and folded his ears back. "Riley, I… I don't know what got into me. I just felt so… terrible… Absolutely worthless… I–"

"James, I understand," Riley interrupted, placing a wing on the vulpine's knee. "I felt terrible too. My heart sank when I wound the corner and saw the gun up against your head. Right as I was gonna say something, you dropped it and fell to your knees. I hesitated too long, and that almost killed you."

Riley sniffed faintly as he turned his head away. "What got into you bud? You've never done anything like that before."

James again sighed and took another sip of beer, then looked into the avian's blue eyes. "I… I miss her Riley…" he said, choking back tears. "I miss her so much…"

Riley held back his own tears as he slid over and put a wing around the vulpine's fuzzy, shirtless frame. "I know how you feel. Remember when Cara died a few years ago?"

James chuckled silently and raised his head back up. "You were a mess."

"I was inconsolable," Riley added, ruffling his feathers. "Just like you, buddy. I understand what it's like to have your wife pass unexpectedly. No one saw her death coming either. It hit me and Falco like a sack of bricks. We were absolutely miserable for the longest time…"

Riley sighed as he lifted the bottle to his beak. "In all honestly James… I thought about killing myself too."

James faintly recoiled at the avian's sudden revelation. "You?"

Riley nodded disappointedly as he put the bottle down. "I couldn't find a way to cope with the grief. I was an inconsolable mess for months, living every day practically with a gun strapped to my head. For three whole months I thought of ending it… I could have ended it all each and every day, day in and day out for three whole months."

"Why didn't you?" James blurted out. "What stopped you from doing it?"

Riley fished out a small wallet from his pocket, and pulled a small, faded and somewhat discolored picture and handed it to the vulpine. James instantly smiled at the picture of two nearly identical avians standing side by side at the Cornerian Aviation Museum.

"Falco," James said with a smile. "Same with me… I dropped the gun as soon as Fox's name popped into my head." James faintly cringed as he restated his kit's name. "Fox…"

Riley nodded as he put the picture back into his wallet. "Your kit needs you," he stated, drying a tear from his eye. "Falco is safe back home on Corneria. Fox is… well… god only knows where he is. We've gotta track him down."

"Easier said than done bud," James said bitterly, taking another drink. "He's completely under the radar. His transmitter is gone, and he doesn't have that tracking chip that the CDF uses."

"Wait," Riley interrupted. "Isn't one of the Huskies with them? That was a Husky Arwing, no?"

"Ah, you're right," James said, capping the bottle and shooting up off the couch. "I bet we can track that–"

The vulpine was cut off as his transmitter started ringing. He looked at the illuminated screen, then growled at the caller I.D. "Son of a bitch… That's Sharp; Husky 2."

James accepted the call and instantly started yelling at the large husky. "Sharp! You've got some explaining to do!"

"Woah, woah, woah, James, chill out," Sharp pleaded. "What's wrong? Why are you–"

"Why is one of the huskies working with the humans?!"

Sharp was silent for a few seconds, then came back in a completely confused tone. "What the hell are you talking about? All of our surviving pilots are here except for–"

"Garrison, I know," James interrupted angrily. "Why is he–"

"Where are you getting this information, McCloud?" Sharp questioned impatiently. "Garrison _is_ on this ship. If you would have let me finish, I would have said it was Spitz that went AWOL. She bolted off the ship a few hours ago."

"Wait, Sheila's with them?"

"Abso-fuckin'-lutely not," the husky shot. "Sheila is absolutely livid with those humans. If she's working with them, then check to see if hell is freezing over."

James was absolutely mystified. "Then… why was there an Arwing at the human's place where we tracked Fox to?"

"Was it Garrison's Arwing?"

"Yeah."

"Oh shit," Sharp cursed, making James' anxiety rise.

"Who?"

Sharp sighed and lowered his voice. "I… I'm sorry James, you aren't gonna like me one bit after saying this, but Wolf jacked G's Arwing just shortly after we ended our mission. If that was Garrison's Arwing down there, and if you're saying whoever was flying it is with the humans and helping them, it's Wolf."

James was absolutely devastated. That was his kit working with the enemy. The same enemy that had his other kit held hostage. His earlier speculations were right about the lupine; he was the insurgent. He was working against everyone in the CDF, working against his partner Sheila, and working against his own father. He couldn't begin to describe the utter disappointment and pure seething rage he was feeling course through his veins.

"T-Thank you, Alex," James stuttered, completely dumfounded and enraged. "I… I'll take it from here."

"Take what?" Sharp asked. "What are you doing?"

James sighed as he balled his paws and lowered his voice. "Tomorrow… I'm tracking his ass down… and skinning him alive."

* * *

><p><em>This world will never be what I expected<br>And if I don't belong, who would've guessed it?  
>I will not leave alone everything that I own<br>To make you feel like it's not too late  
>It's never too late<em>

_Even if I say it'll be alright  
>Still I hear you say you want to end your life<br>Now and again we try to just stay alive  
>Maybe we'll turn it all around<br>'Cause it's not too late  
>It's never too late<em>

_*Never Too Late – Three Days Grace*_


End file.
